They went to buy Mega Millions tickets but won $1 million in a different game

A North Carolina couple went to a store for Mega Millions tickets when the husband also decided to buy one in a different game -- and won a $1-million prize, NC lottery officials said.

Jared Lucas told NC lottery officials that he and his wife decided to stop at a convenience store after passing a lottery billboard with the latest Mega Millions jackpot. A $1.6 billion prize awaits the person whose ticket matches the six numbers in this Tuesday’s Mega Millions drawing.

“We passed the jackpot sign and saw the ‘6-5-4,’ ” Lucas told lottery officials after claiming his prize at lottery headquarters in Raleigh Tuesday, according to an NC Education Lottery news release. “My wife suggested that we get some Mega Millions tickets since the jackpot was so high.”

The couple lives in Grifton in Lenoir County, in the eastern part of the state.

They stopped at a Handy Mart convenience store in Winterville Monday night for some Mega Millions Quick Pick tickets, according to the news release. Lucas also bought a $20 100X The Cash scratch-off ticket.

“I had some extra cash on me so I figured, ‘Why not?’ ” Lucas said, according to the lottery news release. “I was blown away when I saw what we won. I was completely floored.”

Lucas beat odds of 1 in 1.2 million, according to the lottery’s website.

Lucas could choose between an annuity with 20 payments of $50,000 a year or a $600,000 lump sum. He chose the $600,000, lottery officials said. After state and federal tax withholdings, he took home $423,012 and plans to put it into savings, according to the lottery news release.

Lucas told lottery officials he hopes he wins again, according to the news release.

“There’s still Mega Millions,” Lucas told lottery officials. “We’ll see if my luck holds.”

This story was originally published October 20, 2018 at 4:14 PM with the headline "They went to buy Mega Millions tickets but won $1 million in a different game."