Brothers from North Carolina team up to buy $20 lottery ticket and win $1M prize

Two brothers from North Carolina teamed up to buy a $20 lottery scratch-off and won a $1 million prize in Virginia, officials said.

Milton and Charles Whitley of North Wilkesboro told lottery officials they’ve won other prizes before, but never anything like this.

The lucky siblings plan to split the winnings, lottery officials said.

They purchased their winning Jackson scratcher ticket at a gas station in Hillsville, a 115-mile drive north from Charlotte, North Carolina, according to the lottery.

The odds of winning the top prize in the Jackson game — which began Feb. 4 — are 1 in 408,000, according to the game’s web page. One of three winning tickets is left to be claimed, lottery officials said.

The game features other prizes, starting at $20 to the top prize of $1 million, the lottery said. The overall odds of winning are 1 in 2.8.

This story was originally published June 26, 2025 at 2:02 PM with the headline "Brothers from North Carolina team up to buy $20 lottery ticket and win $1M prize."

Natalie Demaree

mcclatchy-newsroom

479-616-0125

Natalie Demaree is a service journalism reporter covering Mississippi for McClatchy Media. She holds a master’s in journalism from Columbia Journalism School and a bachelor’s in journalism and political science with a specialization in African and African American Studies from the University of Arkansas.