Wednesday, April 11, 2012 —
RALEIGH – After hearing the big Mega Millions jackpot was won in other states, Wylie A. Turner of Jacksonville left his tickets in his change jar until he picked up his local newspaper four days later to read a headline, “Another big lottery win in Jacksonville.”
“Naw, it couldn’t be me,” thought Turner as he read the story and saw the ticket was purchased at the Piggly Wiggly on Richlands Highway, the same spot he bought some of his tickets. “No way. It couldn’t be me.”
But after Turner got his ticket he discovered he did have the ticket the newspaper had written about. His ticket matched all five white balls in the March 30 drawing and won $250,000.
Turner, who worked as a federal fireman for 23 years at Camp Lejeune, received $170,000 after taxes were withheld. He said he planned to use about 30 percent of his winnings on home improvements and possibly a car, 30 percent on bills and mini-vacations, and then donate 40 percent to charity and good causes.
“We’re not hoity-toity, but we get along OK,” Turner said. “We have enough to cover our bills. The people of North Carolina helped me win this so I am going to give some back to them.”
A second winner, Ronnie C. Richardson of Zebulon, bought 10 chances at the $640 million jackpot at the Swift Mart on Mashburn Road in Wendell. He said he watched the drawing on TV, saw that none of his tickets had the Mega Ball number, and went to bed.
Then, when he was back at the store, the owner told Richardson that he should check his tickets because someone at his store had won $250,000. When the tickets were checked by the lottery terminal, the winning tune played and up popped the message, “Claim prize at lottery.”
“It was unreal,” said Richardson, a facility manager, of the win. He said he planned to use his winnings, for some home improvement projects.
Turner and Richardson had two of four tickets sold in North Carolina that beat odds of 1 in 3.9 million to match all five white balls in the record Mega Millions jackpot drawing and win $250,000. A father and his adult son from Broadway in Harnett County, Lonnie Johnson and Lonnie Johnson Jr. had the third ticket.
The owner of the fourth ticket, sold at the Kroger on Six Forks Road in Raleigh, has not yet come forward. Winners have 180 days from the date of the drawing to claim their prize.
Three tickets split the $640 million Mega Millions jackpot on March 30 with tickets sold in Maryland, Kansas and Illinois. The jackpot for tonight’s Mega Millions jackpot is $31 million or $22.5 million if taken as a lump sum.
By law, lottery funds pay for teachers’ salaries in grades K-3, school construction, need-based college scholarships, and prekindergarten programs for at-risk four-year-olds. To date, the N.C. Education Lottery has raised more than $2.2 billion for these initiatives statewide.
Editors’ Note: One photo shows Wylie Turner (center) with his son, James, and his wife, Trudie, holding their big check at N.C. Education Lottery headquarters. The second photo, provided by the Turner family, shows Wylie Turner standing beside the Piggly Wiggly sign in Jacksonville announcing the lucky win.
# # #
North Carolina Education Lottery net proceeds are used for prekindergarten programs for at-risk four-year-olds,
reduction of class size in early grades, school construction and need-based college scholarships. For prizes of
$5,000 and greater, 25% federal tax and 7% state tax are automatically withheld.
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Related Photos
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Turner Wylie
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$250KMM sign
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