SMYRNA, N.C. (WNCN) — Someone in North Carolina has a big reason to celebrate this weekend.
Officials with the North Carolina Education Lottery said a lucky player who took a chance on a Fast Play ticket Saturday morning won $1,120,665 — the largest Fast Play jackpot in history.
They said the winner bought the $20 ‘100X The Cash’ ticket from Handy House #2 on U.S. 70 in Smyrna in Carteret County.
The jackpot stood at $920,665 at the time of the purchase.
Since it was a $20 ticket, lottery officials said the winner will receive 100 percent of the $920,665 jackpot plus $200,000 cash.
It beats the game’s previous record of a $691,417 win in November of 2020.
The previous high that the jackpot amount reached was in January of 2021 when it reached $747,482 before a jackpot win claimed half of that amount, according to lottery officials.
The odds of winning a Fast Play jackpot are 1 in 320,000.
The winner has 180 days to claim the prize at lottery headquarters in Raleigh.
After Saturday’s win, the jackpot returned back to $20,000.
Lottery officials said this is because Fast Play features an instantly growing jackpot that increases with every ticket sold until it is won.
