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A lucky man in North Carolina had even more to celebrate on his birthday after scoring a massive $4 million lottery prize.
Shawn Snook, of Statesville, got the best early birthday present last month when the $3 Mega Millions ticket he purchased using Online Play matched all five white balls in the December 17 drawing to win $1 million, according to a release from the NC Education Lottery. Thanks to the 4X Megaplier, that already incredible prize then ballooned to $4 million.
"That was a nice early birthday present," he said, laughing. He added that he knew he would win a huge prize someday. "I've told multiple people that I'm going to hit a big one one day. I just had a feeling."
While some lottery players have strategies to pick the perfect set of numbers, and some simply leaving it to chance, Snook took a different path and seemingly combined the options. And lucky for him, that move paid off in a major way.
"I just picked some random numbers," he said. "I woke up the next day and there you go. I couldn't believe it."
Snook claimed his prize at lottery headquarters on Monday (January 27) where he took home an impressive total of $2,870,001 after all required state and federal tax withholdings. According to lottery officials, not only did the prize come just in time for his birthday, but it is also an opportune time for his family.
"We just started building a house so this really comes at a great time for us," he said.
