Former Marine finds NC lottery ticket in backpack, gets early Veterans Day surprise
A North Carolina veteran purchased a lottery ticket worth $1 million — but didn’t realize his good fortune for days.
The winning ticket was sitting in his backpack before he checked it, making for an early Veterans Day surprise, the N.C. Education Lottery said Wednesday.
“At first, I didn’t believe it,” Yaheem Jones said in the lottery’s news release. “I thought it was a joke.”
But Jones’ ticket was the real deal, scoring him a top prize in the Red Hot Riches scratch-off game. Officials say the big win came after Jones tried his luck at Mark’s Supermarket in the town of Creswell, roughly 150 miles east of Raleigh.
“I bought the tickets before I left for Denver and just threw them in my book bag,” Jones told officials. “I flew all the way to Denver with them and everything and I didn’t even know I was a winner until a couple of days later.”
Jones was clearing out his backpack when officials say he found the prize-winning scratch-off. He said it was “nerve-racking” to return to North Carolina with the lucky ticket.
“I didn’t take my hand out of my pocket,” Jones said in the news release. “Not one whole time.”
When he got back from his trip, Jones on Tuesday decided to get his prize money in a lump sum. He kept $424,503 after taxes, according to the N.C. Education Lottery.
Jones, who served as a “combat engineer in the U.S. Marine Corps,” lives in Washington County, in Eastern North Carolina, officials say.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREWhen gambling is more than a game
Gambling is designed to be a source of entertainment.
If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website.
This story was originally published November 11, 2020 at 12:31 PM with the headline "Former Marine finds NC lottery ticket in backpack, gets early Veterans Day surprise."
