North Carolina Man Can 'Plan For The Future' Thanks To Big Lottery Win

A man in North Carolina has a guaranteed prize for life after scoring a huge win in the Lucky for Life lottery game.

Christopher Johnson, of Apex, recently purchased a $2 Quick Pick Online Play ticket on the lottery's website ahead of the October 12 drawing, according to a release from the NC Education Lottery. After seeing an email notification late at night from the state lottery that made him wide awake, he checked his ticket and found he matched all five white balls in the drawing to win the $25,000 a Year for Life prize.

"I read it in the middle of the night and it woke me up for a while," he said, adding of the lucky ticket, "I just decided to give it a whirl. It was an exciting moment."

Johnson made his way to lottery headquarters on Monday (October 17) where he had the choice of receiving his prize as a $25,000 per year for life or as a one time, lump sum payment of $390,000. In the end, he chose the annual prize, bringing home his first payment of $17,756 after all required state and federal tax withholdings. He didn't reveal any laid-out plans for his new winnings, though he told lottery officials it will help set up his future.

"The first thing I did was tell myself I can make a plan for the future, and that was a good feeling," he said.