Doughnut Run Lands Johnston County Man $1 Million Lottery Prize

A Johnston County man got all his exercise in, as he celebrated a $1 million prize in the North Carolina Education Lottery.

Jay Mays of Selma won the prize on a $10 Carolina Jackpot scratch-off ticket. He purchased it at the 42 Express Food Mart and Grill on N.C. 42 East in Middlesex.

"When I saw I won, I threw it at my wife, took off out the door and started running down the street," Mays said. "I was doing sprints running back and forth down the street."

And it all started with a trip to the store for some doughnuts. Mays went to get some snacks and he he had a feeling about a big win for a lottery prize.

“I’ve been getting close lately and I told my wife I was destined to win soon,” he said.

Mays did choose the lump-sum payout on his winnings, so after required federal and state taxes, he walked away with a $426,063 check.

Players get a second chance with their Carolina Jackpot tickets by scanning the tickets into their lottery accounts where they are automatically entered into a second-chance drawing. The drawing’s rolling jackpot continues to grow with every entry until the next drawing.

The first four drawings feature the rolling jackpot and the fifth drawing features a top prize of $200,000. The last day for entries in the fourth drawing is Oct. 30 and the draw date is Nov. 2.

The $10 Carolina Jackpot game debuted in June with five $1 million prizes. Two $1 million prizes remain to be claimed.

Ticket sales from scratch-off games make it possible for the lottery to raise $2.5 million a day on average for education. For details on how $14.4 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Johnston County in 2021, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.

There aren't many things more fun than corn mazes, and it turns out one of the best ones in the country is right down the road in South Carolina.

According to USA Today's 10 Best team, readers helped to pick out the best places to go get lost in the giant corn stalks.

"Each autumn, farms across the country transform their cornfields into interactive mazes, perfect for a fall family outing," USA Today said in their rankings. "There are more than 500 of these mazes across the nation, but our readers have helped us narrow it down to 10 of the most exemplary, both for the quality of the maze itself and for the wealth of other activities that are offered."

We've got several great corn mazes locally too, so you don't have to drive all the way to South Carolina for fun on the farm.

But as we look at the top choices around the country, there are mazes all over the place, not just in the famous "corn" states. From California to Maine, and Michigan to South Carolina, everywhere is represented on this list.

So let's take a closer look at the top 10 corn mazes across the country, according to USA Today's 10 Best, including the one over in Western South Carolina.