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Erin and Raleigh Hill waited nearly six months before coming forward, uneasy about how winning the lottery would affect their lives.
"When she brought the subject up, I'd always say, 'We'll talk about it,'" Raleigh Hill said Tuesday, according to a statement from the North Carolina Education Lottery. "It wasn't about the money. It was the attention. The hoopla. ... You cannot describe it. I was overwhelmed. Nervous."
N.C. Education Lottery / AP
Raleigh Hill and his wife Erin Hill pose with a mock check for $1 million, in Raleigh, N.C. The North Carolina couple claimed the lotto prize just a day before it expired. Raleigh Hill told the state lottery he hesitated to come in because of the attention.
Finally, on Tuesday, just a day before the ticket's expiration, the couple came forward and claimed their prize. After taxes, the Hills walked away with $680,000. They had 180 days to come forward.
Raleigh Hill, a baggage handler, discovered he had the winning ticket in August, but said he waited to tell his wife, a federal employee, until a few weeks later when he used the news to cheer her up after a bad day. "Things aren't all that bad," Hill told her that day, strategically taping the winning ticket to a computer screen with the winning numbers displayed.
Then, for months, Hill hid the Aug. 20 Mega Millions ticket in a Bible, shoebox and even the fireplace -- actually misplacing it at one point -- until he found it again and he and Erin decided to claim the cash. The couple said they plan to pay off some bills, buy a new home and take a trip to Ireland together.
Erin and Raleigh Hill's phone number is unlisted, and the couple could not be reached for comment today.
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