North Carolina lottery player turns $10 into life-changing $1m prize

A fortunate lottery player saw his $10 scratch-off ticket turn into a life-changing million-dollar prize. That’s the case of a Plymouth, North Carolina resident, who tried his luck with a scratch-off ticket and won $1m.

The Washington County resident purchased his 50X The Cash ticket from Ramseur Gas Co at Jordan Road in Ramseur. Interestingly, the lucky player’s $10 ticket turned out to be a top prize winner for a sweet $1m payday. The Plymouth man wasted no time and only recently visited the North Carolina Education Lottery to claim his big win. At the Lottery headquarters, the player faced a difficult choice: to collect the entire $1m prize via annuity payments of $50,000 per year for 20 years, or take home a smaller, one-time lump sum of approximately $600,000. As is the case with most lottery winners, the lucky player selected the latter option for $600,000 before the applicable taxes. Once relevant taxes were applied, the winner’s bank account increased by $432,000 and change. Unlike some lottery winners, the Washington County resident didn’t disclose his plans about his newfound fortune.

The North Carolina Education Lottery released 50X The Cash ticket on January 30, 2026. Each ticket costs $10 and grants players a chance to win a prize between $10 and a top prize of $1m. The odds of winning the top prize are 1 in 1,712,025 and after the first such prize was won, 11 top prizes remain in play. A tier-two prize from 50X The Cash pays out $25,000 and offers odds of winning of 1 in 466,915.91. Out of 44 tier-two prizes of $25,000 each, 41 are up for grabs. On the other hand, a tier-three prize from the popular scratch-off ticket pays out $5,000 and there are 46 such prizes in play at odds of 1 in 395,082.69. The overall odds of winning any prize from the $10 scratch-off ticket are 1 in 3.79.