Man makes dream trip to lottery headquarters after NC jackpot win. ‘Kind of in shock’
A six-figure jackpot win earned a North Carolina man a dream trip to the state’s lottery headquarters.
David Shafer made the 30 mile trek to Raleigh to claim his $236,439 Fast Play jackpot prize, North Carolina Education Lottery officials said in a news release.
The Benson man tried his luck on a $10 50X The Cash ticket and nabbed 100% of the prize pool. He claimed his prize Oct. 25 and walked away with $168,466 after taxes, officials said.
“I always joked with people at stores that I want the ticket that will take me to Raleigh,” Shafer told lottery officials. “I’m still kind of in shock though.”
He said he bought the winning ticket Tuesday, Oct. 24, at a Country Mart store in Benson, according to the release. Shafer then saw the jackpot prize fall from more than $200,000 to $20,000 and figured someone else was the lucky winner.
“I never pictured winning something like this,” he told officials. “I thought about it though.”
Fast Play games have a rolling jackpot that increases each time a ticket is purchased, according to the state lottery’s website.
Shafer beat odds of 1 in 320,000 to win the entire jackpot and said he plans to “put most of his winnings in the bank,” lottery officials said.
Benson is about 30 miles south of downtown Raleigh.
This story was originally published October 26, 2023 at 11:27 AM.