18-year-old hits $1 million lottery jackpot — and eyes luxury car. ‘Had a huge smile’
An 18-year-old scored a $1 million lottery prize — and hopes to splurge on a luxury car.
“I feel like the luckiest guy in the universe,” winner Jalen McLean told the North Carolina Education Lottery, adding that he now plans to buy an Audi.
McLean got richer after he gave his sister money to buy a lottery ticket. She was with him when he discovered he hit the jackpot.
“He had a huge smile on his face,” sister Dasha Silas told lottery officials in a May 23 news release. “Like so big it looked like the movie character Venom.”
McLean’s face lit up after he won the top prize in the Jumbo Bucks scratch-off game. His lucky $10 ticket came from a Valero gas station in Fayetteville, a roughly 60-mile drive southwest from Raleigh.
“How many 18-year-olds win something like this?” said McLean, a Raleigh resident.
McLean could have claimed his winnings as a lump sum of $600,000, but he chose the annuity option. That means his $1 million prize will be split into $50,000 payments that he receives over the next 20 years. He already got the first payment, which totaled $35,753 after taxes.
A lottery spokesperson has told McClatchy News that decisions like McLean’s are “pretty rare,” given most winners claim their prizes in lump sums. But there have been exceptions, including a recent North Carolina jackpot winner who spent a “long time” thinking before opting for annual payments.
