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A couple in North Carolina is celebrating a huge lottery win after buying a ticket using a special set of numbers.
Carl Fagervik Jr., of Winston-Salem, stopped by the Quality Mart on River Ridge Drive last month to pick up a $2 ticket in the Lucky for Life drawing on December 28, choosing the numbers that were significant to both him and his wife, according to a release from the NC Education Lottery.
"I always play our wedding anniversary and birthdays," he said.
When his wife check the ticket later, she discovered that the ticket matched all five white balls called in the drawing, beating the 1 in 1.8 million odds to score the $25,000 a year for life prize.
"She looked at me with her eyes bugged out. And then she just said, 'We won,'" Fagervik recalled, adding, "When she told me, I just dropped to the floor. I couldn't believe it."
Fagervik claimed his prize at lottery headquarters on Thursday (January 5), where he had to choose between the $25,000 a year for life or a one time, lump sum payment of $390,000. In the end, he chose the latter, taking home $277,877 after all required state and federal tax withholdings. When asked what he plans to do with his winnings, he told lottery officials he hopes to give to charity, take some trips and put some in the bank.
"I'm retired so that's a nice nest egg to have," he said.