Fayetteville Man Wins $272k on NC Lottery Fast Play Ticket
A Fayetteville man is feeling pretty lucky today, after he thought he missed out on a North Carolina Education Lottery jackpot, only to find out he actually won the Fast Play jackpot.
Pernell Shoulars Jr. played the $10 rolling Fast Play lottery game Friday at the Short Trip on Stoney Point Road in Fayetteville. He thought the jackpot had been won before him, but it turned out he was the winner.
“I thought someone else hit it right before me,” Shoulars said. “Then he told me, ‘You did it, you hit it.'”
The clerk alerted him to his $272,829 win, and Shoulars called his wife, who was out of town, immediately to celebrate.
“She was at a convention with some friends so they popped some champagne to celebrate,” Shoulars said.
He arrived at lottery headquarters Tuesday to claim his prize and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $193,739.
Shoulars is looking forward to enjoying the money, but does plan to get some stuff done around the house, take a vacation, and invest in his contracting business.
“We’re going to enjoy it,” he said, “but we’re going to be smart with it too.”
According to the NC Education Lottery, the Fast Play rolling jackpot grows with every ticket purchased in Fayetteville and around the state. When Shoulars made his purchase, it had just reached $272,829. Because he bought a $10 ticket, he won 100 percent of the jackpot.
When a Fast Play jackpot is won, it starts over at $20,000. On Thursday morning, the jackpot was $89,000 and growing. The odds of winning a Fast Play jackpot are 1 in 320,000.
Ticket sales from lottery games make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $2.5 million a day on average for education. For details on how $22.6 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Cumberland County in 2021, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.
