Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

RALEIGH – Polly Burns of Polkton said she couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw a $1 million prize on her $10 scratch-off ticket.

“I had to get my sister to look to make sure my eyes were working,” Burns said. “She said, ‘Girl that’s a million dollars right there.’ ”

Burns, 72, bought her lucky 50X The Cash ticket from B&D Mart on N.C. 24-27 in Midland.

“I stopped at the station I normally use but the line was so long I decided to try another place,” Burns said. “My brother pumped the gas while I ran in and got my ticket.”

Her impatience became her good luck when she got home and scratched her ticket.

“It scared me to death when I saw I won because I was just so surprised,” Burns said.

When Burns arrived at lottery headquarters to collect her prize, she had a decision to make. She could choose to receive the prize as an annuity of $50,000 over 20 years or a lump sum of $600,000. She chose the lump-sum amount of $600,000 and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $426,063.

Burns said she wants to use her winnings to pay off her mortgage and also planned to share some with her family.

The $1 million prize is the last top prize available in the 50X The Cash game that began in February 2021 so the lottery will start the process of ending the game. A new version of the game started this February with six $1 million prizes still available to be won.

Ticket sales from scratch-off games make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $900 million per year for education. The state provided $24 million in grants, using money raised by the lottery, to help Anson County build a new middle school. For details on other ways Anson County benefits from lottery funds, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.