RALEIGH, N.C. -- All we can say is...we hope you got in that office pool!
Twenty-two lucky co-workers in Union County will share a $1 million Mega Millions prize after one of their tickets matched the five main numbers in Tuesday's drawing.
The group decided last minute it would be fun to start an office pool.
“We didn't’t even realize how much the tickets were,” Katherine Lindsey McIntyre told NC Lottery officials. “We just had everyone who wanted to participate chip in $1.”
They got 11 Quick Pick tickets from the Zoom Express on Skyway Drive in Monroe.
DeCora Bowers was the first to realize the group's good luck.
“I checked the numbers on my phone using the lottery app,” Bowers said. “I was looking at the numbers and flipping through the tickets. When I got to the last one I couldn’t believe it.”
She immediately called Mary McNeely to tell her the good news.
“I started screaming when she told me,” McNeely said. “I woke everyone up in my family because I was so loud.”
Everyone started playing phone tag, and those who didn't answer found out the next morning when they went to work.
It came as a surprise to Marilyn Vaughn who didn't even know she was part of the pool!
“I heard everybody screaming and hollering,” Vaughn said. “Another coworker asked me if I was in the pool, and I said, ‘What pool?’ Apparently someone had paid a $1 for me. I couldn’t believe it, I was in shock!”
Vaughn left work to tell another coworker who was sick that day.
“I was dressed in my pajamas and bathrobe and resting when I got a knock on the door,” Pamela Dennis said. “I opened it and Marilyn was there saying, ‘We won! We won! We won!’ I couldn’t wrap my head around it, I was stunned.”
The group went to Raleigh later that day to claim the prize. After taxes, they each took home over $32,000.
As for what they plan to do with the money - some plan to make investments or pay off student loans, others plan to travel.
Barbara Medlin plans to use to money to fulfill her dream of having a second child.
“My husband and I have had a lot of fertility issues,” Medlin said. “We’ve been trying to save enough money to adopt. We were $7,000 short, so that will take care of it for us. It’s a huge relief.”
Lamont Reaves wants to experience a little bit of American history.
“I’m going to go to Oregon and visit the last Blockbuster store,” Reaves said. When asked why he responded, “It’s Blockbuster. It’s historical and nostalgic.”
The group beat the odds of one in 12,607,306 to win $1 million. It was one of two $1 million prizes in North Carolina.
Winners:
Sonia Buitron, Waxhaw
William Henry, Monroe
Asocialyn Murphy, Charlotte
Sharon Corpening, Salisbury
Tammy Goodson, Monroe
Katherine Lindsey McIntyre, Charlotte
Karina Andersen Clark, Charlotte
Lamont Reaves, Matthews
Paula Gray, Wingate
Yolanda Mino, Matthews
Barbara Medlin, Marshville
Teshia Cruz, Monroe
Tamara Blount, Monroe
Amber Williams, Monroe
Charles Thompson, Waxhaw
Mary McNeely, Monroe
Robin Vanderburg, Monroe
Jondrea Page, Harrisburg
DeCora Bowers, Walkerton
Pamela Dennis, Monroe
Angie Chambliss, Harrisburg
Marilyn Vaughn, Monroe
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