A North Carolina Keno player won $212,500

Richard Tyler Jr. from Fayetteville recently made Keno history by winning $212,500 – the largest Keno prize ever won.

The player said he was so shaken by his win that he had to sit down for a few minutes to get his breath back. He purchased his winning ticket from Gray's Creek BP on N.C. 87 South in Fayetteville.

In an interview with the North Carolina Lottery, Richard said that he often plays Keno at the same retailer. “The girls who work in the store know me,” he laughed. “They call me Keno.” He bought a $20 ticket and played for 10 shares. He matched nine of the ten numbers and initially won $4,250, but his prize grew when the 5X multiplier was drawn.

Richard said:

When I saw how many I matched, I was like, ”Oh my gosh.” I got kind of nervous.

He traveled to the North Carolina Lottery headquarters to collect his winnings and took home $151,943 after tax withholdings. He plans to share his winnings with his close family.

How to play Keno

There are multiple ways to play Keno, and you can win prizes from $1 to $1 million. To play, fill out your Kemp play slip with the number of spots you wish to play between 1 and 10. Then, choose how much you wish to wager - $1, $2, $3, $4, $5, $10, or $20. Pick your numbers from 1 to 80, or choose a Quick Pick. You must pick the same amount of numbers as the number of spots you selected. You can choose the bonus multiplier for a chance to increase your prize. If you add the bonus multiplier, it will double the cost of your ticket. The multiplier is randomly selected before each drawing, and it can be 2, 3, 4, 5, or 10. The maximum amount you can win on any Keno ticket is $1 million, regardless of the amount you wagered.

Things you may not know about Keno

Here are some fun facts about the Keno game:

• Keno was originally developed in ancient China as a lottery game. The money was used to fund the building of the Great Wall.
• The name of the device used to store the winning numbers after the game has ended is called the rabbit ears.
• The three most popular Keno tickets are known as “straight“ tickets, "combination" tickets, and “way” tickets.
• A single number group in Keno is called a king.
• You must play a minimum of 20 consecutive games to have up to a year to collect your winnings.

How the lottery helps North Carolina

The lottery has raised more than $10 billion for education in North Carolina since it was launched in 2006. As well as supporting college and university scholarships and grants, the lottery also helps to fund the N.C. Pre-K program, school transportation, and the construction of schools throughout the state.