Jason Keel of Raleigh purchased a $20 scratch-off ticket and “multiplied” his luck into a $4 million top prize.

Keel, a division manager for a construction company, purchased his lucky 100X The Cash ticket on Saturday at the Fuel Stop on Little Brier Creek Lane in Raleigh.

He said he usually just scans his scratch-off tickets using the N.C. Lottery Official Mobile app instead of scratching it. “It said I had to go to the claims center,” recalled Keel. “So, then I scratched the numbers and just saw a 4 and I thought it was $4,000. When I hit the end and saw $4 million, at that point I was in shock!”

Keel claimed his prize at lottery headquarters in Raleigh on Tuesday. He had the choice of taking the $4 million as an annuity paid out as $200,000 a year over 20 years or a lump sum of $2.4 million. He chose the lump sum and after state and federal tax withholdings, Keel took home $1,698,006.

“No purchases at this point,” Keel said of what he plans to do with his winnings. “I’ll be saving.”

All Multiply the Cash games can also be entered into second-chance drawings on the lottery’s website. Prizes in the drawing include one $100,000 cash prize, eight $5,000 cash prizes, and 25 $500 cash prizes.

The entry deadline for the second of four 2020 Multiply The Cash second-chance drawings is May 31 and the drawing is scheduled for June 3.

Ticket sales from scratch-offs make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $700 million per year for education. For details on how $62.6 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Wake County last year, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.