A North Carolina teen is now a millionaire thanks to a $10 scratch-off card his sister bought.
Jalen McLean, 18, now plans to buy an Audi with his $1 million winnings after his brother, Dasha Silas, bought the Jumbo Bucks ticket on his behalf on May 21.
‘He had a big smile on his face. So big it looked like the movie character Venom,” Silas told NC Education Lottery officials.
According to VOC 8, Silas bought the ticket later that evening at Valero in Fayetteville and watched her brother scratch it off.
McLean, the youngest of five siblings, gave his ticket to North Carolina Education Lottery officials and collected a portion of his winnings on May 22.
Jalen McLean, 18, won $1 million after giving his sister, Dasha Silas, money to buy him a scratch-off ticket at Valero in Fayetteville, North Carolina on May 21.
McLean collected some of his earnings with family members at the North Carolina Education Lottery headquarters on May 22
Although McLean asked his sister to buy him a scratch ticket, she was the one who decided to buy the Jumbo Bucks ticket at the Valero on South McPherson Church Road.
The Jumbo Bucks tickets were first released on June 6, 2023 and the top prize is $1 million.
According to the NC Education Lottery websiteare the rules for matching the scratched numbers with the winning numbers.
Ticket buyers who get a 10X symbol will win 10 times the prize shown for it.
Jumbo Bucks ticket owners have a chance to win between $10 and $1 million, and so far only two of the top prize tickets haven’t been purchased in North Carolina.
McLean told NC Education Lottery officials he feels like “the luckiest man in the world.”
“How many 18-year-olds win something like that?” he added.
The new millionaire had the choice of walking away with $600,000 or receiving his prize as a $50,000 annuity for twenty years.
The NC Education Lottery press release confirmed that McLean had decided to choose the annual annuity.
It means the 18-year-old will receive $50,000 every year until his full $1 million cash prize is paid.
Silas, who bought the ticket at the Valero on South McPherson Church Road, decided to buy a Jumbo Bucks ticket for McLean
Jumbo Bucks was first introduced in June 2023 and if you buy a ticket you have a chance to win between $10 and $1 million
Based on the annuity terms, McLean will likely receive a check for $50,000 annually until he turns 38.
He still managed to leave the NC Education Lottery headquarters on May 22 with the first payment, which amounted to $35,753 after required state and federal tax withholdings.
McLean has yet to reveal everything he plans to do with the full $1 million, but so far he will use some of the cash prize to buy an Audi.
It comes after another 18-year-old in North Carolina won almost $2 million in one of his first experiences with the lottery.
Donnie Leviner said the NC Education Lottery also received winnings from a scratch-off ticket – something he said he had a “gut feeling” he should purchase.