Gaston County man almost throws away $200,000 winning lottery ticket

October 3, 2018 Posted by NC Lottery at 9:20 AM

Frank Clark of Gastonia said he almost threw away a lottery ticket worth $200,000.

Clark bought the $5 Mega Millions/Powerball scratch-off ticket at Jakob’s Food Mart on Gaston Avenue in Gastonia.

“I didn’t think I won anything at first,” Clark said. “I was going to throw it away, but then my wife checked it for me. I always let her check them. She has better eyesight than I do.”

He claimed the prize Tuesday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required state and federal tax withholdings, he each took home $141,003. He plans to use the money to get his own tractor-trailer truck.

“I was a truck driver for 38 years before I retired,” Clark said. “This will let me still do some driving.”

The Mega Millions/Powerball scratch-off game launched Tuesday with four top prizes of $200,000. Clark is the first player to win a top prize. Three top prizes remain.

Congratulations!

16 COMMENTS

10/15/2018 09:30 - Tiffany A. S.

How do the winners get the tickets? Headquarters?NC Lottery
Hey Tiffany, Blog moderators aren't sure which tickets you are referring to. Could you be more specific?

10/10/2018 08:15 - charles m.

Why come its a very small Percentage of African Americans Who Win the Powerball for 200,000 or more here in NC And all other states. NC Lottery
Hi Charles, In our experience, folks who play the lottery come from all walks of life and represent a cross-section of all North Carolinians. The lottery is open to anyone who is willing to take a chance and play. We have shared this blog post with you in the past that shows an overview of a recent study we had conducted to better understand who plays the lottery in NC, we hope you'll take a look: https://www.nclottery.com/NewsBlogDetails/2018/9/27/Who-plays-the-lottery

10/09/2018 09:16 - Roger K.

Hey, I'm hoping the Cash 5 change is not going to include RNG, instead of bouncing balls. Raising the numbers is probably going to be some of the changes. Guess I will have to wait and see, if I will continue to play or not..NC Lottery
Hey Roger, You're in luck, there are no changes planned to switch over to an RNG in place of of the current draw set up. We actually posted a blog last Friday that outlined all of the things that will be changing, you can read it here: http://bit.ly/2OC04Ya

10/06/2018 08:05 - Denver G.

Funny, I got a cash5 & a $3 MM ticket. Had the mega ball for another $4. Three days in a row had the "ball", now if I can only get a few of the other numbers also.

10/05/2018 02:04 - Denver G.

Well, small but each win counts. I had the lucky ball on last nights draw for $4. So now do I put it towards a $10 MM or just get an extra cash5 before the matrix changes???? It all started with a free QP.NC Lottery
That's quite a conundrum you are in, Denver! Let us know what you end up going with.

10/05/2018 09:12 - Gary C.

Glad you had some great backup on checking that ticket!!! Congratulations!!!

10/05/2018 12:40 - John C.

Congratulations !!! Gaston county needs more exciting wins !!!!!%

10/04/2018 11:41 - Denver G.

I won $20 & a QP off 1 of these tickets, then won $4 off the QP on last nights PB drawing. Just enuff to buy a $4 LF ticket for tonight. Side bar, I saw the up coming cash5 changes this morning. Not gonna give a spoiler alert. I'll let LZ do their blog thing. Mixed emotions about it. No big deal really. It is still only $1, so I will still continue to play everyday. Only game out there that you can still win a life changing amount of $$$$ for only a buck !!!NC Lottery
Nice detective work, Denver!

10/04/2018 08:38 - Elisabeth W.

why is game logic not working? THX! I am not getting the drawing results via email. which email do you use when notifying winners for the second chance drawings? THX!!!!! NC Lottery
Hi there Elisabeth, Everything looks to be in working order on our end of things. If you are referring to the daily "Winning Numbers" emails, those will be sent from play@email.nclottery.com. Please double-check that you have that email address saved as a contact and also make sure that the emails have not accidentally been filtered to your spam folder. For second-chance drawings, winners are notified at the email address connected to their online play account within 48 hours of the drawing. Please let us know if you have any other questions.

10/03/2018 10:56 - Donald D.

Congrats on your win, Make sure you take your wife out on the town and let her know how much you love her..

10/03/2018 08:27 - James J.

Congrats!!!! That golden ticket can be found anytime, anywhere. New game or older game that's what makes the NCEL so fun!!! Because you never know!!!NC Lottery
You're right -- you never know when your good luck will hit! Good luck to you, James!

10/03/2018 06:39 - William N.

Definitely his lucky day. The first day of the game and he just happened to go to the right store. Amazing!

10/03/2018 02:34 - Elizabeth C.

Happy for your win, sir but if you can’t see the numbers on a ticket do you really need to be driving a tractor trailer?

10/03/2018 02:23 - John R.

Law of average does not exist in the lottery because I’ve placed money in and have not seen anything in return...I’m done!

10/03/2018 12:14 - Troy W.

Jackpot on the first day of sales?!? Nice!NC Lottery
Don't worry, there's still three top prizes left!

10/03/2018 10:23 - Patty V.

Wow! Congratulations! I wish I would win a big prize so I could take care of my mom and not have to worry about money any more.

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Gaston County man almost throws away $200,000 winning lottery ticket

October 3, 2018 Posted by NC Lottery at 9:20 AM