A Charlotte woman won $1 million on the best-rated $30 ticket in North Carolina
Stephenie Cunningham of Charlotte claimed a $1 million top prize on a $30 Max-A-Million scratch-off, the North Carolina Education Lottery said. She bought the ticket at a Quik Trip on Burton Lane in Cornelius and came to lottery headquarters on Monday, August 17, 2026 to collect.
Cunningham had the usual choice at the counter, $1 million or an annuity paying $50,000 a year for 20 years or a single cash option payment of $600,000. She took the lump sum, and after state and federal withholding left with $432,068.
She picked a good ticket. Max-A-Million rates 84.3 on our ValueScore™, the highest of the ten $30 games North Carolina currently has on sale, and it returns 81.5% of sales as prizes. That is more than four points above the national average of 77.3% for $30 tickets, and its overall odds of 1 in 2.95 are better than one in three, which only about 145 active games in the country manage.
The game went on sale back on March 4, 2025 with 25 top prizes of $1 million, and twelve are still unclaimed after this one. It is also close to exactly half sold, at 49.5% of the print run, so the top tier has emptied at almost precisely the rate the print run would predict. Below the million-dollar prizes it still holds six at $100,000, eleven at $20,000, and nineteen at $5,000.
Where the money goes in North Carolina
Education programs in Mecklenburg County received $60 million from lottery funds last year, according to the lottery, which publishes county-level totals in the impact section of its site. North Carolina is one of the states that sends lottery proceeds to schools, unlike Indiana, which puts its surplus toward pensions and a vehicle tax break. We looked at how much of that money reaches classrooms nationally in how much state lotteries actually give schools.
For anyone eyeing the same rack, $100,000 Cash Payday is the other strong $30 option at 83.8 with 56 top prizes still out there, and current scores for every North Carolina game are on our North Carolina rankings.
Sources
North Carolina Education Lottery: Charlotte woman wins $1 million scratch-off prize
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who won the $1 million Max-A-Million prize?
Stephenie Cunningham of Charlotte, who bought the $30 ticket at the Quik Trip on Burton Lane in Cornelius and claimed it at lottery headquarters on Monday. She chose the $600,000 lump sum over an annuity of $50,000 a year for 20 years, and took home $432,068 after withholding.
Is Max-A-Million a good scratch-off?
It is the best $30 ticket in North Carolina by our numbers. Max-A-Million rates 84.3 on our ValueScore™ with a payout percentage of 81.5%, which is more than four points above the national average for $30 games, and overall odds of 1 in 2.95. Twelve of its 25 top prizes remain unclaimed.
Is $432,068 the final amount she keeps?
No. That figure is after withholding, which is 24% federal plus 3.99% for North Carolina. A $600,000 prize falls into the 35% federal bracket, so more tax is due at filing. If the prize were her only income for the year, total federal tax would be closer to $180,000 than the $144,000 withheld, leaving roughly $396,000.
Jessie Jurado is a news writer who covers new scratch-off launches, state lottery guides, taxes on winnings, news, and much more. She joined ScratchCheck in 2026 and writes the site's state-by-state coverage.
