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news blog > article

Johnston County couple instantly wins $1 million

September 21, 2018 Posted by NC Lottery at 9:45 AM
image-photo

Gerald and Phyllis Callahan of Clayton are the latest North Carolinians to win $1 million in the $4,000,000 Diamond Dazzler game.

The Callahans bought the $20 ticket at the Handy Mart on Wilson’s Mills Road in Smithfield on Thursday and brought it right to lottery headquarters to claim their prize. They had a choice between a $1 million annuity that has 20 payments of $50,000 a year or a lump sum of $600,000. They chose the lump sum, splitting the prize to take $300,000 each. After required state and federal tax withholdings, each took home $211,506.

The $4,000,000 Diamond Dazzler game started in September 2017 with three $4 million top prizes and six $1 million prizes. One $4 million prize and two $1 million prizes remain to be claimed.

21 COMMENTS

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9/29/2018 03:56 - Arthur A.

Im next I just know it. Congratulations!

9/26/2018 11:30 - Denver G.

True story here. A few years ago 2 guys stole a bunch of tickets from a gas station. They actually took the winning tickets to the regional claim center in Charlotte to cash them in. The cashier activated a silent alarm of sorts. Police arrived and arrested them on the spot. They were no doubt the D A of the day. We all know what Momma says.

9/26/2018 10:44 - Denver G.

Speaking of lost tickets. I guess stolen tickets would also fall into that category. Looters beware, you will get caught! I urge anyone that is asked to buy a winning ticket, DON"T do it. I am pretty sure you will not be able cash it in since it was not activated as "sold" by the merchant. Just Google "stolen lottery tickets NC ". You will be surprised at all the stories of people that would qualify for the D.A. of the day award!!!NC Lottery
You are correct, Denver. Any tickets flagged as stolen will not be paid, and of course we advise players to never pay anyone for a "winning ticket".

9/25/2018 06:59 - Tamiara P.

Hi Katherine, I had the same question. Given the answer from the NC lottery, then you would in essence be buying tickets and possibly be losing money while the lottery still gains...

9/25/2018 07:45 - Shawn S.

Still having trouble scanning in tickets on web site. Any ideas when it’ll be fixed? NC Lottery
Hi Shawn, We're sorry you're having trouble scanning your tickets! We wanted to let you know that you can only scan your tickets on the mobile app. On the website, they must be entered manually. On the app, you can scan tickets into your Lucke-Rewards account by selecting the icon, "Collect". If you're having trouble scanning or checking your ticket, make sure the only the correct bar code is showing. You could do this by folding the ticket. If you are still running into trouble, we recommend giving our online support team a call at 1-855-767-1863. Hope that helps!

9/24/2018 11:32 - Teresa S.

Congratulations! ??

9/24/2018 09:15 - tim s.

What are the amount of entries on the Carolina cash and campfire cash drawings so far NC Lottery
As of Sunday, there were 17,005 entries for the Carolina Cash second-chance drawing and 893,639 entries in the Campfire Cash Lucke-Rewards drawing. Deadline to enter both Oct. 3 drawings is Sunday. Good luck.

9/23/2018 07:20 - Azjah M.

so NC takes 10-6=4. So if u win a million and choose Lump Sum, you lose 40% off the top in luxury (?) tax, then get taxed again? thats horrible! NC Lottery
Good morning, Azjah. There's not a luxury tax on the prize money. The winner chooses either a $1 million annuity as the prize or a $600,000 lump sum. The same tax withholding is applied to either win. With the annuity, you have the withholding done each year as you get your $50,000 annuity for 20 years. With the lump sum, it is done only one time. The lottery used to only pay the $1 million prizes as annuities but players asked for a choice of lump sum and so it provided the choice. Which would you choose?

9/23/2018 06:17 - Roger K.

Wow! Another diamond dazzler ticket won in just 3 days. Orlando Jones won 100,000 on September 18th and now a bigger ticket 1 million win on the 21st..congrats Mr. and Mrs. Callahan on your big win! One $4 million dollar ticket left and two $1 million dollar left just waiting to be won.. good luck everyone!

9/23/2018 03:29 - KatherineL P.

Hi! With all the flooding in NC, it got me thinking...what is the protocol for handling all the scratch offs in places that sell the tickets that get flooded? They could be grand prize tickets so the lottery can't just allow them to be thrown away or returned to the lottery, could they? Then the remaining number of prizes would be inaccurate....please shed some light on how this is handled. Thanks! NC Lottery
There’s a chance that a lost or damaged ticket had a prize on it. Since the lottery and retailers do not know where winning tickets are, you can’t know when a prize goes unclaimed why that happened. If retailers report tickets lost or damaged by floodwaters, then the lottery can account for that but it won’t know if those tickets had prizes. The “Prizes Remaining” count can include prizes that won’t be claimed if tickets were lost, damaged, or thrown away. In a perfect world, all tickets would be sold and all prizes claimed, but since accidents and floods happen that’s not possible.

9/23/2018 08:30 - Maurice H.

Bless you!

9/22/2018 10:15 - BETTY B.

Congratulations

9/22/2018 07:08 - Janette B.

Congrats

9/22/2018 04:31 - Berry B.

God has Blessed you,congrats!!

9/22/2018 08:58 - Terry B.

wondering if there's some kind of bias against taking an annuity. iust wondering why everyone always chooses the lump sum. One could spend a lump sum in two days!NC Lottery
It is the winner's choice whether they go with the lump sum or annuity. At one time, the lottery used to only pay the $1 million prizes as annuities, but players asked for a choice of lump sum as well. Either way, we recommend all big winners speak with a financial advisor immediately after claiming their prize.

9/21/2018 05:14 - Ann M.

Congratulations

9/21/2018 05:13 - greg s.

for a second chance drawing, I would like to see a lottery package instead of cash! example 28 draws for cash 5, 26 draws for mega, 26 draws for pb and 26 draws for lfl. In my opinion this would be better than a cash reward since it gives you a chance to win big. Could you see the story line if the person who won this prize turned around and won one of the jackpots!!!!

9/21/2018 03:45 - Raquel F.

So happy for you!

9/21/2018 03:27 - michael b.

congrats

9/21/2018 10:48 - Mike S.

do you post a list of second chance winners?NC Lottery
Hi there Mike, We do! You can find second-chance winners by logging into your Lucke-Rewards account and selecting the "Draws" page. From there, select the second-chance tab at the top and be sure to deselect "My Entries" and select "All" from the drop down menu. Let us know if you need any further help.

9/21/2018 09:56 - Tom a.

any idea on when Luck-Rewards ticket entry will be working again?NC Lottery
Hey Tom, Our web team is aware of an issue this morning where players are having trouble accessing Lucke-Rewards. They are working to find a solution as quickly as possible. We appreciate your patience!

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