Lottery player thought NC jackpot win was ‘fake.’ Then came a ‘surreal moment’
A lottery player hit the jackpot — but he was skeptical.
“I thought it was fake at first,” Michael Pepper told the North Carolina Education Lottery. “Then I texted my brother and said, ‘It looks like I’m a winner.’”
Pepper won $100,000 after he tried his luck on the Carolina Cash 5 game. He spent $1 on an online ticket, which matched all the numbers picked in a drawing and shattered his expectations.
“You never really expect to win big, but there’s always that chance,” Pepper, who lives in Wilmington, told lottery officials in a Sept. 26 news release.
It turns out, Pepper got richer on a lucky weekend for North Carolina lottery players. He won Sept. 20, the day after another man scored a jackpot win, McClatchy News reported.
When Pepper learned how much his ticket was worth, it didn’t sink in right away.
“It was a surreal moment,” the prize winner said.
Pepper kept $71,750 after taxes. Now, he hopes to put his prize money toward investments and a new computer.
