Lottery player wins $1M with $20 found in NC parking lot. ‘Straight to Golden Corral’
A man found a $20 bill in a convenience store parking lot in North Carolina and turned it into much, much more.
Jerry Hicks, a master carpenter of 56 years from Banner Elk, walked right into the Speedway store and used the cash to buy an Extreme Cash scratch-off ticket, he told lottery officials.
“They actually didn’t have the ticket I was looking for so I bought that one instead,” he said with a laugh.
The lucky purchase garnered him $1 million in prize winnings, officials said. He had a 1-in-2,017,650 chance to win the top prize.
And Hicks knew exactly where he’d stop to spend some of the money first.
“We are going to head straight to Golden Corral and eat everything they’ve got,” he said.
Hicks collected his winnings at lottery headquarters Friday, Oct. 25, and chose to receive it as a lump sum of $600,000. He took home $429,000 after state and federal tax withholdings.
He plans to use the prize to retire after his long carpentry career and to help his children, officials said.
This story was originally published October 29, 2024 at 12:39 PM with the headline "Lottery player wins $1M with $20 found in NC parking lot. ‘Straight to Golden Corral’."
