Monday night drawing produces record amount of prizes
RALEIGH – The numbers 9-9-9-9 in Monday night’s Carolina Pick 4 drawing added up to a $9.2 million win for lottery players, the most ever won in a single drawing in the game.
The drawing produced 2,574 winning tickets that matched all four numbers. The game’s top prize of $5,000 will go to players who hold one of the 1,303 winning $1 tickets purchased for the drawing. A $2,500 prize will go to players who hold one of the 1,095 winning 50 cent tickets.
The winning numbers are known as “Quads” among players of the Pick 4 game. Quads are some of the most popular combination of numbers played. The odds of matching all four numbers in a Pick 4 drawing are 1 in 10,000.
Lucky winners visited lottery claim centers all across the state to get their prizes on Tuesday. Following social distancing guidelines and safety precautions, they waited in line with their winning ticket in hand to get their checks.
In Raleigh, Pauline Bordes of Bunnlevel left the office smiling with her $5,000 prize. She said she would use the money to pay some bills. “I was a little bit surprised,” she said. “I play, but when it actually came I said, ‘Wow. It happened.’”
Brenda Todd of Durham said she found out her 50-cent ticket won $2,500 when she checked the Pick 4 results Tuesday morning on the lottery’s website. She said she would use some of the money to buy new tires for her car. “It’s a good thing,” Todd said. “It’s very special during these times.”
Lottery officials remind winners that they have 180 days to claim their prizes. Due to the large number of winners and additional COVID-19 safety procedures, players should expect extended waiting times to complete their claims if they choose to visit a regional office on Monday and Tuesday. Players must bring a Photo ID and proof of their Social Security number to complete their claims. Prizes can also be claimed by mail.
The $9.2 million in prizes set a new record of prizes won in a single Pick 4 drawing. The previous record Pick 4 win occurred on June 22, 2019 when the numbers 0-0-0-0 paid out $7.8 million in prizes.
Drawings in the Carolina Pick 4 game are held twice a day, at 3 p.m. and at 11:22 p.m. Players can either pick their own numbers or select a Quick Pick by allowing the lottery terminal to generate a set of four numbers for them.
The Pick 4 game ranks as the lottery’s third most popular game and helps to raise more than $725 million a year for education programs in North Carolina. For details on how lottery funds have made a difference in North Carolina, click on the “Impact” section of the lottery’s website.