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Johnston County couple wins $1 million with lottery scratch-off ticket

A Triangle couple is $1 million richer after they found a diamond while playing a North Carolina lottery scratch-off.

Posted Updated
Lottery
By
Yesenia Jones
, WRAL.com editor
RALEIGH, N.C. — A Triangle couple is $1 million richer after they found a diamond while playing a North Carolina lottery scratch-off.

Gerald and Phyllis Callahan beat the one in 1.1 million odds on Thursday when their Diamond Dazzler proved to be a winning ticket,  according to the North Carolina Education Lottery.

The Callahans bought their instant lottery ticket for $20 from the Handy Mart on Wilson’s Mills Road in Smithfield, the agency said in a written statement. The couple realized they had won and went to lottery headquarters to claim their prize.

The couple was offered a choice between a $1 million annuity that provides 20 payments of $50,000 a year or a lump sum of $600,000.

The Callahans chose the lump sum and split the prize to take $300,000 each. After state and federal tax withholdings, they each received $211,506.

The $4 million Diamond Dazzler game started in September 2017 with three $4 million top prizes and six $1 million prizes. One $4 million prize and two $1 million prizes remain to be claimed.

The ticket sales from instant lottery games helps the North Carolina Education Lottery raise more than $650 million a year for education.

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