That's one way to confirm it's real

By Kate Northrop

KITTRELL, N.C. — A couple who won $200,000 in the North Carolina Lottery had to pinch each other to make sure their win was real.

William Perry and his wife found themselves face-to-face with an astounding amount of money in a matter of seconds after he scratched off a $200,000 top prize from a scratch-off ticket.

In that moment, the couple "had to pinch each other to make sure it was real."

"It's like I was walking around in a trance," Perry told the Lottery. "I was in disbelief."

The 59-year-old shop lead went into Kittrell Grocery on U.S. 1 South in Kittrell and bought a $10 ticket from an instant game called "The Bigger Spin." He scratched it off as soon as he got home and knew he had to show his wife right away.

Her reaction confirmed that he wasn't looking at the ticket the wrong way.

"First she had to check to make sure I was looking at it right," the Norlina resident recalled. "Then she started jumping up and down screaming." 

The ecstatic winners visited Lottery headquarters in Raleigh on Friday to collect the prize, which totaled $142,023 after state and federal taxes. With the money, Perry said he wants to put a large portion of the winnings in a money market account and then give some to his children and grandchildren.

"The Bigger Spin," which launched in September 2021, now has one remaining top prize of $200,000 out of the five originally available at the start of the game. There are also three out of ten second-tier prizes of $20,000 and 12 out of 30 third-tier prizes of $5,000 left to claim.

This particular game also offers another sort of top prize, of which there are two out of five remaining. The other top prize, called The Bigger Spin, allows a winner the chance to spin a giant prize wheel at a live event for an even larger prize ranging from $400,000 to $2 million.

(Click to display full-size in gallery)William Perry and his wife found themselves face-to-face with an astounding amount of money in a matter of seconds after he scratched off a $200,000 top prize from a scratch-off ticket.