North Carolina Teacher Wins $10 Million Scratch-Off Jackpot
A North Carolina middle school teacher just landed a life-changing lottery prize — and she already knows one of the first things she wants to spend it on.
Jena Johnson, a Goldston resident who has taught middle school for about 20 years, won a $10 million top prize on a $50 500X the Cash scratch-off ticket.
Johnson purchased the lucky ticket at Murphy Express on New Chatham Road in Siler City. The odds of winning the game’s top prize were about 1 in 3.3 million.
“I kept looking at it thinking, ‘This can’t be,’” Johnson said while claiming her prize at lottery headquarters in Raleigh.
A wedding — and a dream car
Johnson’s daughter recently got engaged, and the big win came at the perfect time.
“Our daughter just got engaged, and after I won I said, ‘I found a way to pay for the wedding,’” Johnson said.
But the wedding isn’t the only big purchase on her mind. Johnson also plans to finally get the BMW convertible she has wanted since she was 16.
Johnson chose the lump sum
The winner had two payout options:
- $500,000 per year for 20 years
- $6 million lump sum
Johnson went with the lump-sum option. After taxes, she received $4,320,614.
The 500X the Cash game launched in January with five $10 million top prizes and 10 $250,000 prizes. Four $10 million prizes and seven $250,000 prizes are still available.
Raleigh ticket wins $1.1 million
Another North Carolina lottery player also had a huge Friday night.
A $1 Carolina Cash 5 ticket purchased at the Food Lion at 9525 Strickland Road in Raleigh matched all five winning numbers in Friday’s drawing.
The numbers were 2, 13, 18, 22 and 39.
The winning ticket beat odds of about 1 in 962,598 and is worth an estimated $1.1 million.
The winner has six months to claim the prize. Meanwhile, Saturday night’s Carolina Cash 5 jackpot reset to $100,000.
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