Modest $1,000 lottery win compels man to play same game until he hits NC jackpot

Brand loyalty helped an eastern North Carolina man win a seven-figure jackpot in the state lottery.

Robert Thomas beat odds of 1 in 1,343,875 on Saturday, March 29, to win a jackpot on an Ultimate Dash scratch-off ticket, and he says it’s a game he plays out of “love.”

“I’m ecstatic. ... I love that ticket,” Thomas said in an April 1 news release. “I hit $1,000 on it before.”

Thomas didn’t reveal how many $10 Ultimate Dash tickets he has purchased, but his jackpot came to $1 million. His winning ticket was bought at the Riverdale Fuel Market in New Bern.

He arrived at lottery headquarters March 31 to collect his prize and that’s when “the big win finally started to sink in.”

“I was dumbfounded,” Thomas said. “It was a shock.”

Winners at the $1 million or more level must choose between taking a lesser lump sum or getting the prize awarded at $50,000 annually over 20 years (which saves on taxes).

Thomas went for the lump sum of $600,000 and took home $430,000 after federal and state taxes.

The Pollocksville resident intends to buy a home with the money, lottery officials said. Pollocksville is about a 110-mile drive southeast from Raleigh.

“Players can enter their Ultimate Dash scratch-offs in a second-chance drawing for a chance to compete in an Ultimate Dash Challenge Event,” the state lottery says.

“Participants will have 90 seconds to race through a warehouse at Charlotte Motor Speedway collecting as much merchandise as possible. One lucky player could win a prize of $2 million.”

This story was originally published April 2, 2025 at 7:56 AM with the headline "Modest $1,000 lottery win compels man to play same game until he hits NC jackpot."