A man in North Carolina found a $20 bill and decided to buy a scratch-off lottery ticket with it. It turned out to be a great idea that paid off big time.
Jerry Hicks, a master carpenter from Banner Elk, North Carolina, won $1 million on Oct. 22 when he bought an Extreme Cash scratch-off. This was announced by the North Carolina Education Lottery.
The lucky winner said he just happened to see the $20.
He said, “I found $20 in the parking lot outside the Speedway.” “That is what I used to get the ticket.”
In another bad turn of events, he found out when he got to the store in Boone that the original lottery ticket he wanted was not there.
He said about the Extreme Cash scratch-off, “They did not have the ticket I was looking for, so I bought that one instead.” He bought the winning $1 million ticket because of the strange turn of events.
From what the news release says, he turned in his ticket at the North Carolina lottery headquarters on Oct. 25 and was given a few ways to get the cash prize. He was told that he could either get $50,000 a year for 20 years or $600,000 all at once.
He chose the second option, which brings the total amount to $429,007 after state and federal taxes.
What does he mean to do with the cash?
Hicks said, “We are going to go straight to Golden Corral and eat everything they have.”
What are Hicks’s long-term goals? He said he wants to retire after 56 years as a carpenter and use the money to help support his kids.
