Cary man spends $20 on lottery ticket and wins massive $1.5 million jackpot
A Cary man turned his $20 lottery ticket into a life-changing prize — and made history in the process, according to the North Carolina Education Lottery.
Montfort Faulkner won a $1,578,846 jackpot playing the Jackpot 7’s, marking the largest-ever Fast Play win in the lottery’s history.
He purchased the lucky ticket back in February from the Publix supermarket on Kildaire Farm Road in Cary, officials said.
Fast Play games feature a progressive jackpot that grows with every ticket sold until someone wins. Faulkner bought a $20 ticket, meaning he gets to keep the entire prize, plus $200,000 cash.
He claimed his winnings at lottery headquarters Friday, April 24, officials said. After required state and federal taxes, he took home $1,136,933.
Faulkner did not say how he plans to spend his winnings.
Recent local lotto wins
The record-breaking prize marks the latest in a string of big lottery wins in the Triangle in recent months.
In February, Raleigh resident Ray Abbott netted $1 million in the Merry Million second chance drawing, The News & Observer previously reported.
“It’s just unbelievable,” Abbott told officials at the time, adding that he planned to take a family vacation.
A stop at a Johnston County gas station led to a “surreal” $2 million prize for another lucky lottery player in January — more than 100 times what he paid for the $20 scratch-off.
This story was originally published April 28, 2026 at 12:58 PM.