North Carolina Man 'Cried' After Scoring 'Ultimate' Lottery Prize

A man in North Carolina said he cried after learning he won a six-figure prize in an "ultimate" lottery game.

Darrell Seawell, of Knightdale, recently purchased a winning $5,000,000 Ultimate lottery ticket from Mack's Mart on Knightdale Boulevard, according to a release from the NC Education Lottery. When he found out he won, he immediately had to call his wife, Evelyn, to share the good news. She, however, was skeptical at first.

"He likes to joke around a lot so when he first told me I said, 'Stop playing,'" she said. "But then I heard him crying and I knew he wasn't joking."

However, it wasn't until he got to lottery headquarters on Tuesday (November 7) that Seawell learned just how big his prize was— $100,000 — and like anyone would, he got pretty emotional about it.

"I'm 69 years old and if you've never seen an old man cry, I cried," he said. "It's a blessing."

Seawell claimed his prize at lottery headquarters on Tuesday (November 7), taking home a total of $71,259 after all required state and federal tax withholdings. He plans to put his winnings in the bank.

According to lottery officials, the $5,000,000 Ultimate game launched in March with five top prizes of $5 million and 15 $100,000 prizes. Following Seawell's win, seven of the $100K prizes as well as three $5 million prizes remain to be claimed.