North Carolina Man 'Had To Sit Down' After Record-Breaking Lottery Win

A man in North Carolina had to take a breather after landing the largest prize ever won in the history of Carolina Keno.

Richard Tyler, Jr. , of Fayetteville, is no stranger to playing the lottery. In fact, he often visits the Gray's Creek BP on N.C. 87 South to try his hand at the Keno game, according to a release from the NC Education Lottery .

"The girls who work in the store know me," he said, joking, "They call me Keno."

Tyler's luck came full circle last week when stopped by the store on Tuesday (February 6) and picked up a $20 ticket to play for 10 shares. He ended up matching nine of 10 numbers to score a nice prize of $4,250, however this drastically increased after a 5X multiplier was drawn, culminating in an astounding $212,500 prize, the largest in the history of the game.

"When I saw how many I matched, I was like, 'Oh my gosh,'" he recalled. "I got kind of nervous." He added that he "had to sit down for a few minutes just to breathe."

Tyler claimed his prize at lottery headquarters on Friday (February 9), taking home a total of $151,943 after all required state and federal tax withholdings. According to lottery officials, he plans to share his winnings with his family, of which he has eight siblings.

"We are very tight knit and very close," he said.