18-year-old high schooler wins $1M from $10 scratch card he asked his sister to purchase for him

An 18-year-old from North Carolina has won a million dollars thanks to a $10 scratch card bought by his sister, Dasha Silas. Jalen McLean is considering purchasing an Audi out of the $1 million earnings he made from the Jumbo Bucks ticket bought by his sister on May 21.

“He had a huge smile on his face. Like so big it looked like the movie character Venom,” Silas told NC Education Lottery officials.

Silas bought the winning scratch card from a Valero in Fayetteville, according to FOX 8, and watched her brother McLean, the youngest of five siblings, scratch it off. McLean claimed part of his $1 million prize from the North Carolina Education Lottery officials on May 22.

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Despite McLean asking his sister to buy him a scratch card, it was Silas who decided to purchase the $10 Jumbo Bucks ticket from a Valero on South McPherson Church Road, as reported by Daily Mail.

First released on June 6, 2023, Jumbo Bucks began offering a top prize of $1 million. The game involves matching scratched-off numbers with the winning numbers, according to the NC Education Lottery website. Ticket buyers who find a 10X symbol on their ticket win ten times the prize shown. Jumbo Bucks ticket holders have a chance to win prizes ranging from $10 to $1 million, with two grand prize tickets still available in North Carolina.

McLean told NC Education Lottery officials that he feels like “the luckiest guy in the universe.”

“How many 18-year-olds win something like this?” he added.

Winners have the chance to decide whether to accept a $600,000 payoff or receive their prize as an annuity of $50,000 for 20 years. The 18-year-old winner opted for $50,000 annually for 20 years instead of a lump sum of $600,000.

McLean, per the annuity terms, will receive $50,000 annually until he turns 38. His first payment of $35,753 after taxes was issued on May 22. He plans to use part of his $1 million prize to buy an Audi.

This follows another win by 18-year-old Donnie Leviner in North Carolina, who won nearly $2 million from a scratch-off ticket.