'It was meant for me:' Straight zeroes pay $7.8M to NC lottery winners

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- The results from Saturday's Carolina Pick 4 drawing: 0-0-0-0.

"I didn't win very much, but I'm thankful," said one woman from Hoke County. "I'm going to give a little bit of it away. It's always good to help somebody."

She was one of 2,014 winners in the weekend's drawing in what NC Education Lottery officials say is the most ever won in a single drawing. According to the agencies, there were 1,002 winning $1 tickets for the game's top prize of $5,000. The remaining 1,012 tickets bought for $0.50 were worth $2,500. The drawing added up to a $7.8 million cash prize.

"It was meant for me," another winner said. "I was just happy. It's good to win money." The woman told ABC11 it wasn't her first trip to the claim center headquarters. "I've won several times here," she added. "I've come here several times and love it every time I come."

Throughout the day, winners from across the state waited in the claim center with their identification and proof of a social security card before given the option of being issued a check or a bank transfer.

Many winners told ABC11 they planned to go to the mall or to the beach to spend some of their winnings. "I'd love to go out on a yacht, but I don't know who owns one," the Hoke County woman said.

As of the publishing of this article, 942 winners across the state had claimed their cash winnings for a total of $3.7 million.