An American adolescent has become a millionaire after winning the $1 million jackpot.
Jalen McLean, 18, won the prize after his sibling Dasha Silas purchased the Jumbo Bucks ticket on his behalf on May 21.
He had a big smile on his face. Silas told NC Education Lottery officials that it was so huge it resembled the movie character Venom.
According to FOX 8, Silas bought the ticket from Valero in Fayetteville later that night and watched her brother scratch it off.
McLean, the youngest of five siblings, turned in his ticket to North Carolina Education Lottery authorities and collected some of his earnings on May 22.
Although McLean requested that his sister get him a scratch card, she chose to buy the Jumbo Bucks ticket from the Valero on South McPherson Church Road.
The Jumbo Bucks tickets were made available on June 6, 2023, and the top prize is $1 million.
According to the NC Education Lottery website, the game’s rules are to match the scratched-off numbers to the winning numbers.
Ticket buyers who receive a 10X symbol earn ten times the prize displayed for it.
McLean told NC Education Lottery officials that he considers himself ‘the luckiest guy in the universe.’
‘How many 18-year-olds win something like this?’ he said.
The new millionaire might choose to walk away with $600,000 or receive his prize as a $50,000 annuity over 20 years.
According to a news release from the NC Education Lottery, McLean chose the yearly annuity option.
It implies that the 18-year-old will receive $50,000 annually until his entire $1 million cash reward is paid.
According to the conditions of the annuity, McLean will most likely receive a $50,000 check each year until he reaches age 38.
He did, however, leave the NC Education Lottery headquarters on May 22 with the first payout, which, after statutory state and federal tax withholdings, totaled $35,753.
McLean has yet to announce his exact plans for the $1 million, although he has stated that he intends to use some of the cash award to purchase an Audi.