"Epic jackpot" won by surprise

By Kate Northrop

A North Carolina man told North Carolina Lottery officials that his $177,749 online jackpot win was purely accidental, but it'll have a great use.

A happy accident while playing the lottery online resulted in a $177,749 lottery win for one North Carolina resident.

Alphonzo Oates of Raleigh was toying around with the North Carolina Lottery's online offerings when he tapped into the "Wheel of Bonuses" digital instant game, one of his go-to games in his spare time. Several taps later, he saw a $177,749 jackpot win on his screen.

"I thought I was playing in demo mode," Oates laughed. "It surprised the heck out of me."

On Oct. 31, Oates had played a $1 wager and won the "Epic jackpot" prize in the digital instant game, which offers a progressive jackpot that grows with every ticket purchase. The odds of winning that prize are about 1 in 31 million.

While accidental, the win will allow him to give his daughter a generous present this Christmas: graduating college debt-free.

"I can use this to pay off my daughter's last year of college," he said in a press release. "That will be her Christmas gift."

Oates told Lottery officials that he enjoys playing the "Wheel of Bonuses" game whenever he has free time.

"It's just a fun way to pass the time," he said.

The lucky winner claimed his prize last Friday at Lottery headquarters in Raleigh and took home $127,092 after federal and state tax withholdings.

"I'm glad that my daughter will be able to graduate debt-free," Oates said. "It's a happy moment."

The "Wheel of Bonuses" jackpot reset to its starting amount of $50,000 when Oates won the big prize. It currently stands at $355,482.

Players may wager anywhere between $0.50 to $30. The overall odds of winning any prize in the game are 1 in 3.86.