NC teen credits his grandpa for $1 million lottery win on the way to work
Dalton Radford’s grandpa predicted two weeks ago that the 18-year-old from the Gaston County city of Dallas was going to win $1 million, some how, some way, N.C. lottery officials said Wednesday.
Grandpa was right.
Radford snared a $1-million jackpot when he stopped at a store near his home, according to a lottery news release.
He beat odds of 1 in 3.66 million in winning the $1 million prize for the $10 ticket, according to the Carolina Jackpot page on NCLottery.com.
“I left work and was going to my second job,” Radford said when he claimed his prize at lottery headquarters in Raleigh on Tuesday. “I stopped for a White Monster drink and two Carolina Jackpot tickets.”
The public works employee bought the winning ticket Friday afternoon at Will’s Food Store III on Dallas High Shoals Highway.
He checked his tickets in the parking lot and thought, “Hey! I just won a million dollars,” Radford said. “I called my mom, dad, and grandpa. Everyone was happy.”
Radford will save most of his winnings, but he’ll also buy a new Silverado, he told lottery officials.
After choosing to take home a $600,000 lump sum, he netted $426,063 after taxes, officials said. Radford also could have received the prize as a $50,000 annuity over 20 years.
Players get a second chance with their Carolina Jackpot tickets by scanning the tickets into their lottery accounts, according to the lottery. That automatically enters them into a second-chance drawing. The grand finale drawing features a top prize of $200,000, officials said.
The $10 Carolina Jackpot game launched in June with five $1-million prizes, one of which remains to be claimed.
This story was originally published December 7, 2022 at 1:44 PM with the headline "NC teen credits his grandpa for $1 million lottery win on the way to work."