‘Something just told me to buy it’: North Carolina teen wins $2 million after buying lottery ticket at convenience store

SCOTLAND COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — Donnie Leviner, of Laurinburg, had a gut feeling he should buy a lottery ticket, and his intuition paid off with a $2 million win, according to an NC Education Lottery news release.

“Something just told me to buy it,” he said.

Leviner, 18, said he had only bought a few lottery tickets before his $2 million win.

“I was in disbelief,” Leviner said. “I really didn’t think it was true.”

He bought his winning $20 Big Cash Payout ticket from Sneads Grove Convenience on Sneads Grove Road in Laurel Hill.

“I initially just went there to fill up the lawn mower,” he said.

When Leviner arrived Monday to collect his prize, he had a decision to make. He could choose to receive the prize as an annuity of $100,000 over 20 years or a lump sum of $1.2 million.

He chose the lump sum of $1.2 million.

After required state and federal tax withholdings, he took home $858,006.

Leviner said he hadn’t decided what to do with his winnings but he wanted to “spend it wisely.”

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