Photo: Wpadington/iStock/Getty Images
A man in North Carolina is feeling "overwhelmed" after he won a $1 million prize from a scratch-off lottery ticket.
Willie Pridgen Jr., of Rocky Mount, recently picked up a $10 Red Hot Millions from Tony's Tobacco Shop on West Mount Drive in Nashville that ended up scoring him an amazing million-dollar win, according to a release from the NC Education Lottery.
"I was amazed and overwhelmed," he said. "This is a one-in-a-million deal."
Pridgen Jr. recently claimed his prize at lottery headquarters where he had to choose to accept his win as either an annuity of $50,000 over 20 years or as a one time, lump sum payment of $600,000. In the end, he chose the latter and took home an incredible $427,503 after all required state and federal tax withholdings.
According to lottery officials, Pridgen Jr. has a heartwarming plan for how to use his winnings. Rather than blow his cash on wildly expensive things like new houses or fancy cars, he hopes to help his children have a better future.
"My family is really going to benefit from this," he said, adding, "I want to invest the money and leave it to my children, so they can have a better life than I had."