Lottery player tries luck at online game — and wins huge jackpot prize from his couch
A dad tried his luck on an online lottery game — and hit the jackpot from his North Carolina home.
“It was just sitting on the couch watching TV while I was playing,” Jeffrey Bruce told the N.C. Education Lottery. “It was unbelievable.”
Bruce won $153,452 in Wheel of Bonuses, a progressive jackpot game that features digital icons and a prize wheel. His $2 ticket scored the top-tier “Epic Jackpot” prize, lottery officials wrote on their website and in a March 18 news release.
Bruce, who beat 1-in-15.5 million odds to win, couldn’t help but give his ticket a second glance.
“When I woke up the next morning, I had to check to make sure it wasn’t a dream,” the lucky winner said.
Bruce is from the Onslow County town of Holly Ridge, near popular beaches and a roughly 30-mile drive northeast from Wilmington. He kept $110,103 after taxes and hopes to put his prize money toward a business and his three daughters.
“I’ve never won anything like this before,” Bruce said. “I guess I just got lucky.”
It’s not the first time a lottery player wondered whether they were dreaming. Another North Carolina winner’s late-night prize had her thinking she got richer in a dream, McClatchy News reported March 14.
This story was originally published March 19, 2025 at 7:45 AM with the headline "Lottery player tries luck at online game — and wins huge jackpot prize from his couch."
