Lottery player turns $5 into much bigger NC prize. ‘Never won anything like that’

A lottery player in North Carolina said he was “still in shock” after hitting the jackpot in a $5 game.

Allen Peterson of Raleigh won the top prize of $143,324 in the Jackpot Spectacular game, the North Carolina Education Lottery shared Sept. 4.

Peterson was playing digital lottery games and relaxing at home on a Sunday when suddenly his luck changed.

“I was about to cash out, and then confetti showed up on the screen and said, ‘You won the grand prize,’” he told lottery officials.

The odds of hitting the jackpot in the game with a $5 ticket are 1 in 8 million, records show.

“I have never won anything like that in my life,” the Wake County man told lottery officials.

He took home $102,837 after taxes and said he plans to use his windfall to invest and possibly start a business, according to the N.C. Education Lottery.

Jackpot Spectacular features a progressive jackpot that grows until someone wins it.

This story was originally published September 4, 2025 at 5:07 PM with the headline "Lottery player turns $5 into much bigger NC prize. ‘Never won anything like that’."