Man wins $1m lottery prize after chicken wing stop, plans to help daughters

• One Boomer, North Carolina man recently stopped to buy chicken wings and tried his luck with scratch-off tickets
• The man won one of the top prizes from the 20 Years game for a $1m payday
• Each 20 Years ticket costs $20 and players can win a range of prizes, including one remaining top prize of $1m

A man who stopped to buy chicken wings and purchased lottery tickets won a life-changing prize.

That’s the story of one Boomer, North Carolina man who is looking forward to securing a better future for his daughters thanks to a sweet lottery prize.

Chicken wing stop leads to million-dollar prize

The lucky man visited the Shop ’n Save on Wilkesboro Boulevard in Lenoir and bought chicken wings. This is when he also decided to buy some lottery tickets.

After trying a few scratch-off tickets, the man didn’t win anything, but one ticket kept catching his eye.

"The ticket stared at me. It was telling me something," the Boomer resident said in an interview with the North Carolina Education Lottery.

The fortunate man trusted his intuition and bought one more ticket, taking the 20 Years scratch-off game. This ticket brought him a life-changing $1m top prize.

"I felt good for the girls, it’s a future for my kids. I’ve always worked for my girls," the winner said.

Earlier this week, the lucky lottery player visited the North Carolina Education Lottery to claim his newfound fortune.

He had a choice to make: either collect the entire $1m prize via annuity payments of $50,000 a year for 20 years or take home a one-time lump sum of $600,000.

The Wilkes County man selected the latter option after the relevant applicable taxes saw his bank account increase by $432,066.

When he was asked about his plans for his newfound fortune, the winner admitted that he would put the money in a trust fund and savings for his two daughters.

One more top prize of $1m remains in play from the 20 Years scratch-off game

The North Carolina Education Lottery introduced the 20 Years scratch-off ticket on April 7, 2026.

Each ticket costs $20 and grants players a chance to win a prize between $20 and $1m.

The odds of winning the game’s top prize for a $1m payday are 1 in 1,194,060 and after the Wilkes County man’s win, one such prize now remains in play.

A tier two prize from the $20 scratch-off game awards $20,000 and there are 90 such prizes up for grabs at odds of 1 in 17,910.9.

Within the lower prize tiers, between $500 and $20, there are many more prizes remaining in play from the $20 scratch-off ticket.

The overall odds of winning any prize from the 20 Years game are 1 in 3.45.

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