Winner uses kitchen appliance as a safe to protect it from someone in particular
By Kate Northrop
SALISBURY, N.C. — To protect a $2 million winning lottery ticket from a certain four-legged friend, one North Carolina man hid it in the safest spot he could think of — his microwave.
A North Carolina lottery winner used his microwave as a safe to hide a $2 million winning ticket while he figured out his plans for claiming the prize.
Cristen Breton of Salisbury could not think of a safer place to put $2 million dollars besides inside his trusty kitchen appliance after he won big on a lottery ticket he purchased at Fast Stop on Andrews Street in Salisbury.
"I went into the store and bought three tickets," Breton told the North Carolina Lottery. "The third one won. I thought it was a joke."
The winning ticket was a $20 "Platinum" scratch-off ticket that held the game's $2 million top prize. The clerk behind the counter gave him some sound advice, and Breton took it seriously.
"The cashier told me to go home and not tell anyone," Breton continued. "I put the ticket in the microwave to protect it from my dog."
After Breton collected himself — and the ticket out of the microwave — he visited Lottery headquarters in Raleigh on Wednesday to claim the prize. He chose to receive it as a one-time lump sum of $1.2 million and took home a grand total of $858,006 after federal and state taxes.
"The only thing I want to do is help my mom," Breton said. "She deserves this."
Breton also plans to use the prize money to make much-needed repairs on his home.
Breton claimed the last remaining $2 million top prize in the $20 "Platinum" scratch-off game, which launched in August 2022. Since he won the final available top prize, the Lottery will soon discontinue the game. At this time, the Lottery has not yet published a date for the last day to claim prizes in the game.
In the meantime, players can still try to win the two out of eight second-tier prizes of $100,000 and the seven out of 89 fourth-tier prizes of $4,000 while the game is still active. All 20 third-tier prizes of $20,000 have been claimed.
The overall odds of winning any prize in $20 "Platinum" are 1 in 3.23.
The next news story is "Man eats 2 million lottery tickets in chicken sandwich"
Bad move!
The last item saying that players can still win the 2nd and 4th tier prizes while the games is still active gets me.
Long ago, I lived in Oregon where they pulled the tickets after all the top prizes are claimed, because they can’t have a game advertising a $2m top prize when there are no top prizes left to win. It becomes false advertising at that point.
I now live in Colorado, where they just don’t care. They’ll sell tickets as long as people buy them, regardless if there are any top prizes left or not. I have an email from the Colorado Lottery stating as much (they do say people can look up how many top prizes remain unclaimed on the website – but who does that before they buy a ticket?). Anyway, this is why I don’t buy Scratch tickets in Colorado.
Does your state pull Scratch tickets when all the top prizes are claimed?
* Perhaps his 4 legged friend cashed his last ticket and left the store with top of the line prime rib.
A man, his dog, and his mother...sounds pretty lonely.
Now that he's wealthy, he'll have a lot more "friends" in his life!
Sounds like a good and down to earth person won and he only wants to help his mother and fix up his home. His family priorities say a lot about him.
Good for him.
Yeah, gold diggers.
No thanks.
I agree!
As the Hindu saying goes,
"A friend in need is a friend indeed, although of different caste;
The world will be your anxious friend as long as riches last."
By the way...
Congratulations to the winner!
I'm always happy for those who win the lottery!
"It becomes false advertising at that point. "
Interesting theory, but I'm pretty sure the lotteries are immune from laws against false advertising. FWIW, I once talked to a lottery security department about an issue and as long as I had him on the phone I asked if there were any official rules about what happens if a store accidentally prints two identical tickets when you're trying to buy one. There are none, at least in PA, and he specifically told me they don't consider it fraud if a retailer knowing sells a ticket that can't possibly win more than half the jackpot.
The last line is sad but true.