North Carolina lottery player turns $50 into $100K

• Stopping for a scratch-off ticket before work brought a life-enhancing $100,000 win to one North Carolina lottery player
• The lucky winner won the six-figure prize from the $10 Million Spectacular scratch-off ticket
• The popular $50 game offers a range of prizes, including one top prize of $10m, two prizes of $1m and three prizes of $100,000

A lucky lottery player from Jacksonville, North Carolina, felt "pretty good," after scoring a $100,000 prize from a $50 scratch-off ticket.

Late last week, the North Carolina Education Lottery confirmed that the Jacksonville resident won the hefty prize from its popular game, $10 Million Spectacular.

Winning $100,000 makes a Jacksonville resident feel pretty good

In an interview for an Official with the Lottery, the man admitted to stopping on his way to work to buy a scratch-off ticket.

The Jacksonville resident purchased his ticket at Circle K on Lejeune Boulevard in Jacksonville.

To his surprise, the $50 scratch-off game won a tier-three prize for a $100,000 payday.

The man recalled the day he won the life-enhancing prize and said: "It feels pretty good."

After purchasing the ticket, the fortunate winner went to work and decided to scratch it off.

To his surprise, the $100,000 prize appeared, and he immediately called his wife to give her the good news.

"She couldn’t believe it. She couldn’t go back to sleep," the Onslow County man said.

Only recently, the fortunate winner visited the Lottery to claim his big prize.

After the applicable federal and state taxes, the winner collected $71,764.

Asked about his plans for the unexpected windfall, the man said he wants to go on a vacation in Portugal with his wife.

What's more, the Jacksonville resident said he will pay some bills and then save the rest of the prize.

Several top prizes are up for grabs from the $10 Million Spectacular ticket

Each $10 Million Spectacular ticket grants players a chance to win a prize between $50 and $10m.

The cost per ticket is $50 and the overall odds of winning any prize are 1 in 3.11.

When the $10 Million Spectacular scratch-off ticket was introduced, a total of five prizes of $10m were available. Now, only one top prize remains in play and the odds of winning it are 1 in 3,255,582.

A tier-two prize from the $50 scratch-off ticket awards $1m, and out of 20 such prizes, two are up for grabs.

The odds of winning a tier-two prize from the $10 Million Spectacular ticket are 1 in 813,895.5.

Winning $100,000, or a tier three prize from the $50 scratch-off ticket, has the same odds and out of 20 such prizes, three remain up for grabs.

Within the lower prize tiers, between $50,000 and $50, many more prizes remain in play.

Image credit: North Carolina Education Lottery