Lottery player checks ticket over breakfast — and realizes he's a winner for life
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.
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