A lucky man hoping to win some pocket money has scooped a massive USD 120,000 jackpot after buying a ticket from his own store.
Bryan Caves from the area of Willow Spring, in the US state of North Carolina, bought the USD 1 (GBP 0.8) Cash 5 ticket from Logan’s Safeway Mini Mart store, where he is the owner.
He explained he was aiming for a small prize in the November Bonus Cash promotion when he bought the ticket from one of his cashiers.
Bryan said in a statement obtained by Newsflash from North Carolina Education Lottery: “I really just got it hoping to win one of the USD 500 [GBP 394] prizes.”
His ticket ended up matching all five numbers on the drawing on Thursday, 16th November, thus beating odds of 1 in 962,598 to win the USD 120,000 (GBP 94,760) prize.
After finding out about the win, Bryan immediately called his wife and told her the great news.
He said: “She couldn’t believe it so she drove to the store to double-check it.”
When asked by lottery representatives about how he felt when he realised he had won, Bryan said: “I was ecstatic. Just surprised and elated.”
Bryan collected USD 85,501 [GBP 67,493] after state and federal taxes at lottery headquarters in the city of Raleigh on Tuesday, 28th November.
He said he plans to use the money to pay off his mortgage and use the rest for some home reparations.
North Carolina Education Lottery officials said: “During the holiday season, Play Smart, Gift Smart raises awareness that lottery tickets are not appropriate gifts for kids as part of a national gift responsibly campaign.
“Research shows that the earlier someone participates in or is exposed to gambling, the more likely they are to develop a gambling problem later in life.”
