Video: Stokes County man gets $1 million phone call

Eddie Nations from King said he was in shock when he got the phone call telling him he won $1 million in the Extreme Millions Second-Chance drawing.

“I started crying and shaking,” said Nations, a retired industrial mechanic. “I never thought I’d win something like this.” 

 Alice Garland, executive director of the N.C. Education lottery, called Nations on Jan. 5 to tell him the good news. Check out his reaction by watching the video.

“I didn’t get to the phone in time, so she left a message asking me to call her back,” Nations said. “My wife thought it was someone playing a joke on us.”

It wasn’t a joke. When Nations called back, he learned that he won the grand prize in the drawing. His entry was chosen from 1,395,919 of them. He claimed his prize Friday.

“Even on the drive down here I was shaking and excited the whole way,” Nations said.

He had the choice of taking a $1 million annuity that has 20 payments of $50,000 a year or a lump sum of $600,000. He chose the lump sum. After federal and state tax withholdings he took home $417,006. After he got the check, Nations said he told his wife of 35 years that she was going to get something special.

“I joked with her and told her, ‘After all these years, I bet you never thought you’d be married to a millionaire did you?”’ Nations said. “It looks like we can get the new truck you want.” 

Extreme Millions launched in December 2016 with four top prizes of $10 million and 22 prizes of $1 million. Two top prizes and 11 $1 million prizes remain.

People who play Extreme Millions can enter their scratch-off tickets into a second-chance drawing for a grand prize of $1 million.  Nations won the second of four second-chance drawings.

Ticket sales from games like Extreme Millions made it possible for the lottery to raise more than $600 million for the state last year.

Congratulations!