Lottery player gets ‘life-changing stroke of luck.’ But his mom was skeptical
A lottery player got a “life-changing stroke of luck” — but his mom was skeptical.
“She thought I was joking,” Jeremy Wilson told the North Carolina Education Lottery in a Sept. 19 news release.
But Wilson’s massive $10 million prize was the real deal. And now, he plans to spoil his mom with a trip for her birthday.
The 20-year-old son scored the big win after stopping at North River Tobacco Barn in Jarvisburg, near the coast and a roughly 200-mile drive northeast from Raleigh. While there, he played the $10 Million Spectacular scratch-off game.
“I only buy $50 tickets when I’m feeling lucky,” Wilson said.
It turns out, Wilson’s intuition was spot-on. He was still at the store when he checked his ticket, discovering how much it was worth.
“It was a crazy feeling,” Wilson told lottery officials. “I couldn’t control myself.”
The winner is from Willow Spring, a roughly 15-mile drive south from Raleigh. Instead of opting for annual payments, he took his prize as a lump sum of $6 million. He kept $4.3 million after taxes.
In addition to traveling with his mom, Wilson hopes to save for the future.
It’s not the first time someone wasn’t convinced about a lottery prize. The wife of another North Carolina winner thought he was “pulling her leg” when he hit the jackpot, McClatchy News reported in 2024.
This story was originally published September 19, 2025 at 1:57 PM with the headline "Lottery player gets ‘life-changing stroke of luck.’ But his mom was skeptical."
