Relatives team up in North Carolina lottery. Their jackpot left them in disbelief
A pair of relatives joined forces to play the lottery — and their teamwork paid off big time in North Carolina.
Robert Roberts and Foy Buckner Jr. checked their $20 scratch-off ticket and found out it was worth much more, the N.C. Education Lottery said last week in a news release.
“Something’s wrong,” Buckner said he was thinking as he looked at a $2 million prize.
Despite the relatives’ disbelief, their jackpot win was the real deal, according to officials.
“I bought the tickets and he’s my lucky picker,” Roberts said of the teamwork that led up to the big surprise.
Roberts and Buckner — whose exact relationship was not revealed in the lottery’s news release — had their lucky moment after a trip to Triangle Stop Food Stores in the mountain town of Hendersonville. At the business on Chimney Rock Road, the family members bought an Ultimate 7’s game ticket, officials said.
The relatives decided to take their money in a lump sum. They split the prize and after taxes, Roberts kept $566,287 and Buckner was left with $282,719, according to the N.C. Education Lottery.
The relatives are from Buncombe County in Western North Carolina.
It’s not the first time North Carolina lottery players hit the jackpot after teaming up.
In January 2020, officials said a couple with a weekly lottery routine scored a windfall just in time to celebrate 70 years of marriage.
And in September, a husband and wife who coached together also played the lottery and won $100,000, McClatchy News reported.
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 July 12, 2021 at 9:38 AM with the headline "Relatives team up in North Carolina lottery. Their jackpot left them in disbelief."
