Man has unusual plan for backyard after winning big in new NC lottery game, state says

William Shivers was confident a big win in the North Carolina Education Lottery was due for him any day, so he spent $30 on a ticket in the 200X The Cash game.

“I always told my family I was going to win one day,” he said in a news release.

And he was right.

The pricey ticket beat odds of 1 in 1,481,823 and won the Ayden resident $100,000, according to state lottery officials.

Shivers says his initial reaction was disbelief. Then he couldn’t help but rattle his family with a cryptic group text that said: “I finally did it.”

“I called my wife and she thought I was joking,” he said.

Shivers showed up at lottery headquarters March 11 to get his money, which came to $71,509 after taxes, the state reports.

His plans for the money include a mix of personal responsibility and wild spending.

Once his bills have been paid off, Shivers intends to build the metal shop of his dreams in the backyard, lottery officials said.

Shivers is the first to win $100,000 in the 200X The Cash game, which launched March 5, officials said. The top prize is $5 million and the odds of winning that are 1 in 2,963,646, the game reports.

He bought his ticket at a Circle K in Winterville, north of his home in Ayden, officials said.

Ayden is in Pitt County, about a 90-mile drive southeast from Raleigh.

Many people can gamble or play games of chance without harm. However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.

If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website.

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