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A North Carolina man recently accomplished a feat that few have: winning a coveted million dollar lottery prize.
Matthew Simmons, of Charlotte, is celebrating after the $2 Mega Millions ticket he purchased last month won him a $1 million prize, matching all five white balls to beat the 1 in 12.6 million odds, according to WCNC. He bought the winning ticket for the July 2 drawing at a 7-Eleven convenience store on Freedom Drive in Charlotte.
Simmons recently claimed his prize at state lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After all state and federal tax withholdings, he took home a grand total lump sum payment of $707,501.
Because no one won during Friday's drawing, the Mega Millions jackpot has risen to $179 million ahead of Tuesday's (August 3) drawing. The odds of winning the major prize are 1 in 302 million. Earlier this year, a player in Michigan scored one of the largest Mega Millions jackpots in the game's history, winning the $1.05 billion prize.
While winning a million prize is rare, it has happened a few times in recent history around North Carolina. One woman in Charlotte won $2 million with a scratch-off ticket given to her by a friend, while another in Wake Forest scored a "colossal" prize with her ticket.