NC man hits lottery jackpot, ending popular game. He hid the ticket from his dog.

A North Carolina man turned his microwave into a safe so his dog wouldn’t chew up the ticket that landed him a $2 million jackpot, lottery officials said this week.

“The cashier told me to go home and not tell anyone,” the man said when he claimed his prize at lottery headquarters in Raleigh on Wednesday, according to a lottery news release. “I put the ticket in the microwave to protect it from my dog.”

Cristen Breton of Salisbury bought the $20 Platinum scratch-off ticket from Fast Stop of East Spencer on Andrews Street in Salisbury, according to the lottery.

He won the last of the four top $2 million prizes, ending the popular game, officials said.

He beat odds of 1 in 3.2 million, according to the $20 Platinum game page on the lottery website.

Breton won on the third ticket he bought at the store that day

“I thought it was a joke,” he said.

Breton had the choice of taking his prize as a $100,000 annuity over 20 years or a $1.2 million lump sum. After taxes, he took home $858,006 after choosing the lump sum, officials said.

“The only thing I want to do is help my mom,” Breton said. “She deserves this.”

He also plans to make home repairs.