Georgia man claims $2 million prize surrounded by family

Angel Navarrete of Athens, Ga., shared a special moment with his family after winning $2 million playing 100X The Cash.

“I was like, ‘Is this real? Am I reading this right?’” he recalled.

The win was made even sweeter when Navarrete’s parents joined him in celebration.

“We were overjoyed! Emotions were running high. It was really hard to believe,” said Navarrete.

Navarrete shared that he and his parents decided to try their luck together on the lottery.

“My family likes to play 100X The Cash on weekends, I thought I would join,” said Navarrete.

The Navarrete family bought the lucky $20 ticket, along with a few others, at The Local Market on U.S. 64 East in Hayesville. They went back to the car and each picked tickets at random.

Navarrete scratched away at his tickets and revealed a $2 million top prize. The odds of that win are 1 in 1.54 million.

When Navarrete arrived at the lottery headquarters on Thursday, he had a choice to make. He could choose to receive his prize as an annuity of $100,000 a year over 20 years or a lump sum of $1,200,000. He chose the lump sum of $1,200,000 and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $864,126.

He plans to use his winnings to pay bills, invest and save.

The 100X The Cash scratch-off debuted in January 2025 with four $2 million prizes. Since Navarrete won the last top prize, the lottery will begin the process of ending the game.

The lottery has raised over $13 billion for education over 20 years. For details on other ways the lottery helps benefit education programs in all 100 North Carolina counties, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.