Man wins $439,000 lottery prize just after buying North Carolina home

A day after buying a home, a North Carolina man is already seeing a drastic return on his investment.

Benny Murphy from Alamance County won $439,527 from a winning lottery ticket on Aug. 13 just a day after purchasing a house, according to the North Carolina Education Lottery.

"They made a joke about lower payments if I won the lottery," Murphy told North Carolina lottery officials.

Murphy won the Cash 5 prize after picking up a $1 ticket from a Quickmart in Mebane, the lottery reported. After federal and state tax withholdings, he received $314,262 from his jackpot win.

He said he will use the money to finish paying off the house far sooner than he originally planned. He will also embark on a fishing trip and still have some spare money to go to savings, the lottery reported.

Mega Millions jackpot at $582 million

A lucky Mega Millions jackpot ticket holder can win up to $582 million if they have the winning numbers for Tuesday's drawing. The estimated price increased after there was no winner of the Friday jackpot.

After taxes, the take-home payment will be around $286.9 million, according to lottery officials.

In 2024, there have been two winners of Mega Millions jackpots including a New Jersey player who won $1.13 billion in March and an Illinois player who won $552 million in June.