Lottery

North Carolina man finds $20 on the ground, uses it to buy a scratch-off and wins $1 million

“We are going to head straight to Golden Corral and eat everything they’ve got,” Jerry Hicks said.

A $20 bill lying on the ground outside a convenience store led Jerry Hicks of Banner Elk to a $1 million scratch-off win.
NC Lottery

A $20 bill lying on the ground outside a convenience store led Jerry Hicks of Banner Elk to a $1 million scratch-off win.

Jerry Hicks has worked as a master carpenter for 56 years. Now, the North Carolina resident is retiring after winning $1 million thanks to a string of luck.

Hicks, of Banner Elk, made a stop at a convenience store in Boone last Tuesday and found a $20 bill in the parking lot. He told the North Carolina lotto that he used that money to buy an Extreme Cash scratch-off.

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“They actually didn’t have the ticket I was looking for so I bought that one instead,” he said.

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The ticket was worth $1 million.

Hicks claimed his winnings on Friday and chose the lump sum of $600,000. After state and federal withholding, he took home $429,007. Had he chosen the annuity option, Hick would have received $50,000 over 20 years.

He said he also planned on using his winnings to help his children out. But first, he's going to celebrate with a big meal.

“We are going to head straight to Golden Corral and eat everything they’ve got,” Hicks said.

Attorney Andrew Stoltmann has represented 12 lottery winners, many of whom lost all their winnings through bad investments, reckless spending and greedy relatives. “Unfortunately, the people who win the lottery think at that point, the journey is over. And what they don’t realize is that the journey has really just begun,” says the Chicago-based Stoltmann.
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