Man discovers his NC lottery ticket is worth 1,000 times more than he believed
Jose Analco Ramirez of Greensboro purchased the $20 scratch-off in the 100X The Cash game on Thursday, May 29, lottery officials said in a May 30 news release.
The odds of winning $2 million, the game's top prize, are 1 in 1,853,616.
'I saw the two at first and thought it was $2,000,' Ramirez told lottery officials. 'It was like a fairy tale turned into reality. ... It just didn't feel real. It still doesn't feel real.'
The ticket was purchased at a Circle K store on New Garden Road in Greensboro, about a 75-mile drive northwest from Raleigh.
Ramirez went to lottery headquarters in Raleigh on Friday, May 30, to collect his prize and had to make a tough choice between a smaller lump sum check or 'an annuity of $100,000 over 20 years,' officials said.
'He chose the lump sum of $1.2 million and, after required tax withholdings, took home $861,006,' lottery officials said.
Ramirez told lottery officials he plans 'to invest and possibly start a business.'
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