North Carolina Man Lands $1 Million Lottery Win: 'Crazy Feeling'

A North Carolina man is celebrating a major lottery win after picking up a lucky scratch-off ticket.

Travis Wilhelm, of Statesville, recently stopped by the Fast Phil's on Harmony Highway where he purchased a $10 ticket for the Emerald 10's game, which launched earlier this year, according to a release from the NC Education Lottery.

"When that ticket came out, I knew that was my ticket," he said. "I've been playing it ever since."

Sticking to the game worked out in his favor when his recent ticket landed him one of the game's top $1 million prizes, a number he couldn't believe he was seeing at first glance.

"I thought it was a misprint," he said. "I looked back and forth like 10 different times."

He added, "It was a crazy feeling."

Wilhelm claimed his prize at lottery headquarters on Monday (August 18), where he had to choose between receiving his prize as an annuity of $50,000 over the course of 20 years or as a one time, lump sum payment of $600,000. He ultimately chose the latter and took home $430,503 after all required state and federal tax withholdings.

As for what he plans to do with his new winnings, the Iredell County man wants to put some funds in savings and potentially buy a new car.

According to the lottery website, the Emerald 10's game debuted in April with five top prizes of $1 million. Following Wilhelm's win, three more prizes remain to be claimed.