'0-0-0-0' lottery drawing breaks North Carolina record with $7.8 million in winnings

Some 2,000 North Carolina lottery players will be a few thousand dollars richer after guessing an unlikely number combination: "0-0-0-0."

In the largest amount ever won in a single drawing in the game –  $7.8 million – 2,014 winning tickets were sold in Saturday's Carolina Pick 4 in the North Carolina Educational Lottery.

Those who purchased one of the 1,002 winning $1 tickets can claim the $5,000 prize; those who purchased one of the 1,012 winning 50 cent tickets can claim the $2,500 prize.

The odds of winning with "0-0-0-0," known as "Quads" in the lottery game, are 1 in 10,000, the NC Lottery said.

The previous largest amount in a single drawing in the game occurred  in August 2012, when $7.5 million in prizes came from a "1-1-1-1" drawing.

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The lottery said it expects longer wait times to claim prizes given how many winning tickets were sold.

Follow USA TODAY's Ryan Miller on Twitter @RyanW_Miller