Man wins $1M from lottery ticket he bought with money found in parking lot
A North Carolina man received an unexpected windfall last week from a scratch-off lottery ticket he bought with $20 dollars he found on the ground.
Banner Elk resident Jerry Hicks landed a $1 million prize from the Extreme Cash scratch-off ticket, electing Friday to collect it as a one-time payout of $600,000 – before taxes – the North Carolina Education Lottery said. His post-tax winnings were $429,007.
Hicks said he "found $20 in the parking lot outside the Speedway" in Boone on Tuesday and "used that to buy the ticket" that won him the prize, according to the lottery.
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"They actually didn’t have the ticket I was looking for, so I bought that one instead," Hicks said.
The largest prize offered by the $25-per-ticket Extreme Cash scratch-off is $1 million. The chances of winning $1 million from the game stood at 1 in 2,017,650 as of Monday, according to the lottery.
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Hicks’ post-win plans included a stop at the local Golden Corral restaurant.
The funds will also help Hicks retire from his 56-year carpentry career, the North Carolina Education Lottery said. He also plans to use the money to help his children.
FILE - Scracher lottery tickets are shown in a convenience store. ( Carla Gottgens/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Other North Carolinians pocketed six-figures from lottery wins during the same week.
A man from Gastonia received $429,003 after taxes from $1 million he scored from a $10 scratch-off, according to the lottery. Another in Goldsboro won a $150,000 Powerball prize that amounted to $107,251 after taxes.