‘My knees buckled.’ NC man hits jackpot in popular lottery game. ‘Is this real?’

A North Carolina jackpot winner could hardly stay upright after he hit the third largest prize ever in a popular game, state lottery officials said Tuesday.

“My knees buckled,” Steven Holder said after learning he’d won the $1.1 million Fast Play jackpot, according to a lottery news release. “I kept thinking, ‘Is this real?”

Holder, who lives in Charlotte, said he could barely believe his big win.

“When I think about it, I still can’t believe it happened,” he said.

Holder bought the $10 Break the Bank ticket at JAD Mart on Statesville Road in Charlotte, officials said. Because he bought a $10 ticket, he reaped 100% of the progressive jackpot.

He claimed his prize at lottery headquarters in Raleigh on Monday and took home $797,716 after taxes, officials said. He didn’t say what he’ll do with the money.

The Fast Play jackpot grows with every ticket sold. As of Tuesday afternoon, the jackpot was $31,000.