Less than a week after relocating to North Carolina, Jeremy Hartzell from Asheville bought a $10 scratch-off and won a $1 million lottery prize.

“I came here to rent but now I’m coming here to buy,” Hartzell said.

Hartzell, 25, bought his lucky Big Cash Payout ticket from Quick Mart on U.S. 25/70 in Marshall.

“I just felt an urge to buy a scratch-off,” Hartzell said.

A father of two, Hartzell said he wants to use the money to help support his children.

“This couldn’t have come at a better time in my life,” he said.

When Hartzell arrived at lottery headquarters Monday to collect his prize, he had a decision to make. He could choose to receive the prize as an annuity of $50,000 over 20 years or a lump sum of $600,000. He chose the lump-sum amount of $600,000 and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $426,063.

The Big Cash Payout game debuted in December with four $1 million prizes. Since Hartzell won the last $1 million prize in the game, the lottery will start the process of ending the Big Cash Payout game.

Ticket sales from scratch-off games make it possible for the lottery to raise $2.5 million a day on average for education. For details on how $11.5 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Buncombe County in 2021, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.