NC Player Beats 1-in-10M Odds for Huge Jackpot

Matthew Shepherd wasn’t expecting anything big — he was literally “just killing time out of boredom” when he decided to try a $5 digital instant game. Moments later, the Burnsville man watched his screen freeze on the jackpot and thought, “There’s no way.”

What happened next? A life-changing $952,821 win.

Highlights

• ? Won the Grand Fortune top prize in the Monopoly digital game

• ? Odds of hitting that jackpot: 1 in 10 million

• ? Walked away with $683,651 after taxes

• ? Planning to invest the money — and maybe grab a new truck

Shepherd said he was “ecstatic,” noting he would’ve been thrilled just doubling his money. Instead, he snagged a nearly $1 million prize in a game that grows jackpots across multiple states.

He claimed his winnings at lottery headquarters on December 1.
Meanwhile, the NC Education Lottery continues to make a big impact statewide, raising over $11 billion for education since its start in 2006 — with more than $1 billion raised in 2024 alone.