A North Carolina man "started shaking" after scoring a massive lottery prize worth more than $1 million.
Michael Underwood, of Taylorsville, was enjoying a relaxing Saturday playing digital instant lottery games when he played a $2 ticket in the Multiplier Mania game and beat the 1 in 20 million odds to win the top level "gold jackpot" and land the progressive jackpot, which at that time was $1.16 million, according to a release from the NC Education Lottery. The Alexander County man was in such a state of shock that he couldn't stop shaking for a while after discovering just how much he won.
"I started shaking for about an hour," he said. "I was in disbelief."
Despite still being March, Underwood said his son thought it was an early prank for April Fools' Day when he shared the exciting news.
"My son though it was an April Fools' Day joke," he said. "He had to check to make sure it wasn't April yet."
Fortunately for Underwood, it was most definitely not a prank. He claimed his prize at lottery headquarters on Thursday (March 20), taking home a total of $836,957 after all required state and federal tax withholdings. According to lottery officials, he plans to invest his winnings. As for now, though, he is still soaking in the win.
"I never thought in a million years this would happen," he said.