Lottery winner plans to give cash to help one particular group of people in NC

A jackpot winner in the North Carolina Education Lottery says he intends to start giving away money, with one particular group of people in mind.

“I want to help the homeless people in my community,” Robert Lowman told lottery officials.

Lowman paid $5 for a 20X The Cash ticket on Sunday, April 13, and it won him $250,000. That’s the top prize in the game and the odds of winning it are 1 in 1,335,942. He bought the ticket at the J & H Mart in Wilson.

“It’s a miracle,” Lowman said in a news release. ”I really didn’t know what to do or what to think.”

He picked up his money Monday, April 14, at lottery headquarters in Raleigh, and the prize came to $179,376 after state and federal withholdings, lottery officials said.

“In addition to helping the homeless, he plans to do some work on his apartment,” officials said.

Lowman lives in Wilson, about a 50-mile drive east from Raleigh, and he didn’t go into details of how or when he’ll start helping the community’s less fortunate.

Wilson County had nearly 17% of its population “living with severe housing problems” in 2023, Data USA reported. Meanwhile, homelessness in the state “rose 19% from 2023 to 2024,” according to the N.C. Housing Coalition.

The 20X The Cash game debuted in February 2024 with 10 top prizes of $250,000 and “Lowman won the last top prize.”

“The lottery will begin the process of ending the game,” officials said.