Photo credit: North Carolina Education Lottery
On the evening of June 21, Neo Cruz-Sanchez stopped at the Efland Supermarket on his way home from work. Moments later, he was a millionaire, sort of.
Irineo ‘Neo’ Cruz-Sanchez won the lottery on 6/21/2024. Cruz-Sanchez paid ten dollars for the scratcher that he purchased from the Efland Supermarket on US 70 West in Efland, North Carolina. The scratcher was a part of the Multiplier Mania game and according to CBS17 news there is a 1 in 1.34 millionth of a chance of getting as lucky as Cruz-Sanchez did.
Cruz-Sanchez didn’t exactly jump up and down when he won the lottery. “I was in disbelief that I actually won it,” said Cruz-Sanchez.
Cruz-Sanchez, 2016 graduate of Riverside High school and current resident of Hurdle Mills, NC, won the lottery 6 years after his graduation. When at Riverside, Cruz-Sanchez was a staff member of the Pirate’s Hook and helped create the paper’s social media accounts.
The North Carolina Lottery gave him two different ways of collecting his earnings. He could either collect the lump-sum all at once and only have to pay taxes and make deductions once, or get paid a smaller sum every year for the next 20 years and have to pay annual taxes on the sum.
“I chose the lump sum to not worry about anything else,” says Cruz-Sanchez. The idea of having to pay taxes on a sum of about $50,000 every year for 20 years was not appealing.
“When I went for the lump sum, I didn’t get the million dollars,” he said. “They took out 400,000. I don’t know why they do it, but every time you choose the lump sum they take away 40% of the proceeds. I ended up getting a check for close to $450,000.”
“It wasn’t winning a million dollars, but winning money I only paid 10 dollars for.”
Cruz-Sanchez is currently looking at options for how to spend his money.
“A lot of people have given me advice on what they would do,” he said.
So far, the only thing he has used his winnings on is paying off his car, his girlfriend’s car and his mother’s car. He plans on investing the remainder of his earnings into something.
Cruz-Sanchez has talked with multiple professionals to see who he wants to trust with his money.
“If I start investing right and start getting money back, I don’t see myself working as long as I was planning to,” he said.
Cruz-Sanchez didn’t, however, immediately quit his job. He is currently employed at Chamberlain Electric, a family owned electrical company based in Durham that serves locations all throughout the RDU area, according to their website.
“Honestly, it hasn’t changed anything right now [at work],” he said. “[But] if I get everything settled right, I will end up retiring in my 40s or early 50s.”
Cruz-Sanchez works at Chamberlain Electrical, a family owned electrical company based in Durham.
Cruz-Sanchez said family members haven’t asked for money, but he does feel increased pressure after winning the lottery. “There is a lot of pressure of having all of it sitting in your bank account.”
Cruz-Sanchez has talked with multiple professionals. “I’m still trying to see who I want to trust with my money,” he said.
