All news

A North Carolina Keno player won $200,000

Lottery player makes North Carolina Keno history.

Carolina Keno logo on blue background
Corinna Underwood

Nancy Bourget of Lincolnton won $200,000 on January 6, 2024. This was the largest Carolina Keno win to date.

In an interview with the North Carolina Lottery, Nancy said:

The stars are all aligning for me right now. It's a little surreal.

Nancy won the Carolina Keno game playing a $40 Quick Pick ticket. She won a $100,000 prize by matching all 10 numbers. Her prize was doubled because she played for two shares for each draw. She purchased her winning ticket from RaceWay, located at 1913 East Main Street, Lincolnton.

Nancy said she had often dreamed of winning but never expected it to come true. She claimed her prize on January 12, 2024, which just happened to be her birthday. After tax withholdings, she took home $141,407. She plans to put some of her winning aside for her five grandchildren. She said:

I want to look out for their future. I'm really excited for them.

How to play the North Carolina Keno

When you play Keno, you can win up to $1,000,000 every 4 minutes with more than 300 drawings every day. For each Keno drawing, the computer will randomly select 20 numbers out of 80. For each game you play, you choose how many numbers – referred to as spots – you want to play, and you can pick up to ten. Then, choose numbers from 1 to 80 that you want to try to match. Alternatively, you can choose a Quick Pick to select your numbers for you. Each play costs $1. You have the option to play for $2 to double your prize or $3 to triple your prize. You can continue adding a dollar, up to $10, to multiply your prize. You can enter up to 20 consecutive drawings at a time.

The largest-ever Keno win

Nancy Bourget's $200,000 win might have made Keno history in North Carolina, but it's not the biggest Keno prize ever won. The largest prize in the history of the game was paid for the first time out to an unnamed player from Massachusetts. The $1 million prize was won on March 22, 2023, with a ticket purchased from Zenner's Package and Deli located at 307 Tyler St, Pittsfield. The winner played with a 12-spot ticket, and they selected the numbers 1 through 12. The winning numbers included every number from 1 to 13. The odds of winning this game were 1 in 478,261,833.

In the same game, Robert Taylor and his wife Terry, from Taunton, Massachusetts, won $500,000. He purchased his Keno ticket from Atlantic Café, located at 10 Plain Street in Taunton. Terry played numbers 1 through 11. They planned to use his winnings to buy a home and take his grandchildren to Disney World.

This was also a lucky game for four other Massachusetts players, who each won $100,000 prizes.

Another $1 million Keno winner

Keno player John Exley from Washington State became the second person to win a $1 million Keno prize on December 23, 2023. John purchased his winning ticket from Safeway, located at 13434 Colton Place in Oregon City. The 60-year-old wagered on a 10-spot game and added the Special Keno gameplay option. He matched all ten numbers to win his jackpot prize.

Comments

Comments have been disabled for this article.

Related articles

Liam Carter holding a framed photo of his late mother, Anne Carter
Late mother’s note leads son to unexpected EuroMillions surprise

She played every week for years without a big win until after she passed. Was the prize his all along?

Todd Betzold profile pic

Todd Betzold

Instant digital lottery game win
Digital dream: $2 ticket turns into $6.7 million windfall

Record-breaking digital jackpot claimed in NC as state's online lottery revenue soars.

Samantha Herscher profile pic

Samantha Herscher

Florida Lottery Mega Millions payout surge
Florida scores 400% payout surge after Mega Millions shake-up

Payouts jumped from $840K to $4.3M — game-changer for players or just a lottery power play?

Todd Betzold profile pic

Todd Betzold

Washington Lottery Hit 5 game logo
Lost debit card leads to $480K jackpot win for Washington man

He just wanted his debit card back, but a lucky feeling led to a big lottery win.

Todd Betzold profile pic

Todd Betzold

Recent articles

View All
Louisiana Lottery online play update
Digital tickets, real money: Louisiana's bold online lottery plan

Louisiana lottery modernization bill could create a regulatory loophole.

Samantha Herscher profile pic

Samantha Herscher

Liam Carter holding a framed photo of his late mother, Anne Carter
Late mother’s note leads son to unexpected EuroMillions surprise

She played every week for years without a big win until after she passed. Was the prize his all along?

Todd Betzold profile pic

Todd Betzold

Instant digital lottery game win
Digital dream: $2 ticket turns into $6.7 million windfall

Record-breaking digital jackpot claimed in NC as state's online lottery revenue soars.

Samantha Herscher profile pic

Samantha Herscher

Masked thief nabbed
Masked thief nabbed after allegedly cashing stolen lottery tickets

Caught by the bling: A flashy watch and a telltale tattoo helped police ID the masked thief.

Todd Betzold profile pic

Todd Betzold