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After catching a few small spots and croakers while fishing Thursday, Jasper Person of Jacksonville stopped to play the lottery on his way home and hooked a whopper – a $1 million prize, according to a press release from the North Carolina Education Lottery.

“It was the biggest catch of the day,” said Person, a disabled Army veteran, as he collected his prize Friday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh.

Person bought his lucky $10 Carolina Black Millionaire Edition ticket at the Best Mart on Richlands Highway in Jacksonville.

“It made me nervous,” Person said. “But I called my wife and said, ‘Hey, baby, I just won a million dollars.’ She said, ‘Stop playing.’”

Person had the choice of taking the $1 million prize as an annuity of $50,000 a year for 20 years or a lump sum of $600,000. He chose the $600,000 lump sum and took home $424,503 after required federal and state tax withholdings. He said he planned to pay off bills and remodel his home.

For details on how money raised by the lottery made an impact in North Carolina last year, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.

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