Stanford Butler of Fayetteville tried his luck on a $10 scratch-off ticket and won the first $700,000 top prize in a new lottery game.
Butler bought his lucky Triple 777 ticket from the Short Stop on Bingham Drive in Fayetteville. He arrived at lottery headquarters Monday to collect his prize and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $497,073.
The Triple 777 game debuted this month with four top prizes of $700,000. Three top prizes remain to be claimed.
Ticket sales from scratch-offs make it possible for the lottery to raise $2.5 million a day on average for education. For details on how $23 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Cumberland County last year, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.