PENDER COUNTY — The North Carolina Education Lottery has a new winner with a Pender County man taking home $1 million in cash prize.
Maulin Patel bought a $10 scratch-off at Atkinson Minute Mart on West Church Street in Atkinson, where he works.
He arrived at the lottery office on Monday to claim the winnings. Rather than going with a payment of $50,000 a year for 20 years, Patel chose the lump sum of $600,000. After tax withholdings, he took home $432,063.
Patel was the first to score the top 12 prizes in the 50X The Cash game, which debuted in January.
The lottery supports education programs statewide and in Pender County contributed $5.1 million last year.
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