Jackpot: More than 2,000 winners in North Carolina lottery

RALEIGH, N.C. — Turns out zero can be a lucky number.

North Carolina’s state lottery Saturday said it set a record payout after the winning numbers in a Pick 4 game came back “0-0-0-0.”

The lottery said about 1,000 tickets at $1 were sold and will pay out at $5,000. Another 1,000 tickets were sold for 50 cents, and they will pay out at $2,500. Lottery officials said winners should expect “extended waiting times” when picking up their prizes.

The state said the total payout is $7.8 million. The previous record was $7.5 million in 2012, when the winning Pick 4 numbers were “1-1-1-1.”