Man Wins $5 Million Lottery Prize After Receiving Wrong Ticket

A New York man currently staying in North Carolina recently scored a huge $5 million lottery win after being handed the wrong ticket, the Charlotte Observer reports.

"I still can't believe I won," said Jonathon Bate, a construction supervisor from Poughkeepsie.

According to the N.C. Education Lottery, Bate has been working a temporary construction job in North Carolina when he decided to try his luck at the lottery. After leaving work Wednesday (May 5), he stopped by the Maple Ave Family Fare in Burlington to get some coffee and purchase a lottery ticket.

"The funny part about the ticket is I got the wrong ticket," he said. "I asked for one and I got another and I just said, 'Alright.'"

Instead of correcting the cashier, he just accepted the $20 Fortune ticket he was given. And it's a good thing too as he quickly found out that he won the life-changing $5 million top prize, beating the 1 in 2,280,000 odds.

Bate claimed his prize on that same day and had a choice between receiving $250,000 each year for 20 years or a lump sum payment of $3 million. He chose the latter, taking home $2,122,506 after taxes.

So what does he plan to do with his newfound winnings?

"A new truck and my granddaughter is going to go to college," he said.

According to lottery officials, the $5 million Fortune game launched in 2019 and had three top $5 million prizes, and Bate's win was the last of the three.

Photo: Getty Images


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