Lottery player checks ticket over breakfast — and realizes he’s a winner for life
A North Carolina man turned his $2 lottery ticket into the prize of a lifetime.
Edward Long of Yadkinville said he was enjoying a coffee and scone for breakfast when he checked his Lucky for Life ticket, according to a news release from the North Carolina Education Lottery. He’d scored a big prize, winning $25,000 a year for life.
Long hurried to tell his wife, who joked, “You’ve made a mistake,” he told officials.
The ticket, sold at a Quality Mart convenience store in Jonesville, matched all five numbers in the Lucky for Life drawing on May 13, the lottery said. Long beat odds of 1 in 1.8 million to snag the second-tier prize.
Long claimed his winnings at lottery headquarters Wednesday, May 14, and chose the lump sum option, taking home $279,826 after taxes, according to the lottery.
Long said the most he’s ever won is $500. Now, he plans to use his lottery prize to pay some bills, he told officials.
“Now I don’t have to worry about anything after this,” he said.
Jonesville is about a 150-mile drive northwest from Raleigh.
This story was originally published May 15, 2025 at 5:04 PM with the headline "Lottery player checks ticket over breakfast — and realizes he’s a winner for life."