Wife ‘went crazy’ after realizing her husband won life-changing jackpot in NC lottery

A North Carolina man had a hard time believing his eyes when a $10 lottery ticket came up a $1 million winner, but he says that’s nothing compared to his wife’s reaction.

“I said, ‘Look at this,’ and she went crazy,” Gary Banther of Lake Toxaway said in a Feb. 4 N.C. Education Lottery news release.

Details of the minutes that followed were not released, but she’s set to get a new car, Banther told lottery officials.

He admits spending a lot of time staring at the Jumbo Bucks ticket, as if it might suddenly change.

Odds of winning one of the eight top prizes of $1 million in the game are 1 in 1,482,257.14. Five $1 million prizes remain, lottery officials said.

“I’m still thinking, ‘Is this true,’” he said. “I’m just thankful and grateful.”

Banther picked up his prize Feb. 3 at the lottery office in Raleigh and was presented with two options: A lump sum or an annuity of $50,000 over 20 years.

“He chose the lump sum of $600,000 and, after required tax withholdings, took home $430,503,” lottery officials said.

Banther bought the ticket at the Lake Toxaway Trading Post near Lake Toxaway, about a 145-mile drive west from Charlotte.

This story was originally published February 5, 2025 at 7:46 AM with the headline "Wife ‘went crazy’ after realizing her husband won life-changing jackpot in NC lottery."