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Have you ever dreamed of winning the lottery? Perhaps you've imagined checking your ticket and discovering that you are the lucky winner of a $20,000 or even $1 million prize. The excitement and shock would surely be immense. A woman in North Carolina is experiencing that joyous surprise to an even bigger extent after landing an incredible $10 million prize.
Patricia Brunson, of Durham, recently picked up a $50 scratch-off ticket for the $10 Million Spectacular game from the Homestead Family Fare on Guess Road, according to a release from the NC Education Lottery. It turns out that $50 was well spent when she learned she won $10 million, the first of the game's top prizes to be claimed.
Her reaction was simple, telling lottery officials, "I was in shock."
While most lottery winners can simply go collect their prize at lottery headquarters, Brunson was met with a choice that could affect her for years to come. She could either receive her winnings as an annuity of $500,000 per year over the course of 20 years or as a one time, lump sum payment of $6 million. She ended up choosing the latter, taking home an impressive $4,290,014 after all required state and federal tax withholdings.
Brunson was the first person to win one of the recently-launched $10 Million Spectacular game's top prizes. Following her win, there are four $10 million prizes that remain to be claimed as well as 15 $1 million and 16 $100,000 prizes.