The man from North Carolina did not know that luck was on his side when he went to the store on Tuesday.
Jerry Hicks, a master carpenter from Banner Elk, said in a news release that he found a $20 bill in the garage of the store. He used the money to buy a scratch-off ticket and won $1 million.
The release says that Hicks bought an Extreme Cash scratch-off with the money.
He said, “They did not have the ticket I was looking for, so I bought that one instead.”
A winner named Hicks picked up his prize on Friday at the North Carolina Education Lottery Headquarters. His choice was to get the prize all at once, in the amount of $600,000, instead of getting it over 20 years.
The lottery says that Hicks took home $429,007 after taxes.
It says that Hicks plans to help his kids with the money and then stop working as a carpenter after 56 years.
But first, Hicks wants to enjoy his win.
He said, “We are going to Golden Corral right away and eat everything they have.”