Lottery players in Wendell, Greensboro are latest millionaires

Three North Carolina residents in Guilford and Wake counties became millionaires Friday, claiming N.C. Education Lottery prizes totaling $4 million.

Posted 10:58 p.m. Jan 17, 2014 — Updated 11:17 p.m. Jan 17, 2014

WENDELL, N.C. — Three North Carolina residents in Guilford and Wake counties became millionaires Friday, claiming N.C. Education Lottery prizes totaling $4 million.

David Hopkins of Middlesex and Danny Ray of Zebulon claimed a $3 million prize at lottery headquarters Friday after the ticket they bought in Wendell proved lucky. The two pocketed a lump sum of $1.8 million, forgoing the option of annual payments of $150,000. Hopkins’ $1,620,000 share was worth $1,221,045 after taxes, while Ray’s $180,000 share was worth $124,560.

In Greensboro, Clarence Wright, a postal worker, beat the odds with a $1 million ticket he won playing Mega Millions – the first $1 million prize since the game’s October overhaul, which included a new number matrix and bigger starting jackpots.

He said he plans to use the money to pay off his home.

“I actually scanned the ticket on Thursday,” Wright said. “The scanner said that I needed to claim my prize at the lottery. I thought I had won a few hundred dollars, so I put the ticket back in my wallet. Then this morning I went to Wal-Mart and got a haircut and then went to the Greensboro lottery office.

“That’s when they told me what I had won. I was walking around with $1 million in my pocket the whole time.”

Wright’s prize amounted to $692,000 after taxes.

“You play the lottery, but you never think you’re going to win. It’s hard to believe, but I’m going to believe it all the way back to Greensboro,” he said.

North Carolina players have won two Mega Millions jackpots, ranging from $12 million to $57 million.

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