Samuel Cureton of Huntersville tried his luck on a $25 Spectacular Riches scratch-off ticket and won the $1 million top prize.
Cureton bought his lucky ticket from Shoprite Markets on Statesville Road in Cornelius. He arrived at lottery headquarters Wednesday and had the choice of taking home $50,000 a year for 20 years or a $600,000 lump sum. He chose the $600,000 lump sum and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $426,067.
Spectacular Riches launched in October 2021 with eight top prizes of $1 million and 20 $100,000 prizes. Two $1 million top prizes and eight $100,000 prizes remain to be claimed.
Ticket sales from scratch-off games make it possible for the lottery to raise an average of $2.5 million a day for education. For details on how $62.6 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Mecklenburg County in 2021, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.