A craving for doughnuts and a last-minute trip to a convenience store landed one North Carolina a massive $1 million lottery prize.
Jay Mays, of Selma, recently stopped by the 42 Express Food Mart and Grill on N.C. 42 East in Middlesex to pick up a snack and ended up purchased a Carolina Jackpot scratch-off ticket while he was there, according to a release from the NC Education Lottery. He quickly learned that his $10 ticket ended up scoring a $1 million, sending him running wild through the streets.
"When I saw I won, I threw it at my wife, took off out the door and started running down the street," he recalled. "I was doing sprints running back and forth down the street."
Mays claimed his prize at lottery headquarters on Friday (October 14), where he had to choose to receive his prize as either and annuity of $50,000 per year over the course of 20 years or as a one time, lump sum payment of $600,000. In the end, he chose the latter, bringing home an impressive $426,063 after all required state and federal tax withholdings.
"I've been getting close lately and I told my wife I was destined to win soon," he said.
The lucky winner didn't reveal any plans for his new winnings, but the impressive total offers up a wide possibility of options. He could follow in other recent winners' footsteps in taking a dream vacation with his wife or remodeling his home, or he could simple save it for a special occasion.