Binh Phan of Charlotte said the desire for some luck after a long day at work led him to a $150,000 lottery prize.
“I work in printing,” Phan said. “It had been a really hard day, so I decided to get a lottery ticket before I went home.”
Phan stopped by the Food Lion on East W.T. Harris Boulevard in Charlotte and bought a $5 Holiday Cash scratch-off ticket.
“When I saw the four zeros, I knew I had a top prize,” Phan said. “I stood there for at least five minutes staring at the ticket.”
Phan showed the store manager to make sure he was reading the ticket right.
“I told the manager, ‘I think I hit the big one,’” Phan said. “When he said it was a winner, I started jumping up and down.”
Phan claimed his prize Friday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required state and federal tax withholdings, he took home $105,753. He plans to use some of the money to pay bills. He’ll also use some of the money to celebrate the holidays.
“It’s going to be a very good Christmas,” Phan said.
Holiday Cash launched this month with four top prizes of $150,000. Two top prizes remain. Holiday Cash is a first of its kind scratch-off ticket for North Carolina lottery players. It’s printed on plastic and the non-printed area is transparent.
All holiday scratch-off tickets can be entered into one of two second-chance drawings for a chance to win $50,000. The deadline to enter the first drawing is Nov. 30.
Ticket sales from games like Holiday Cash make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $650 million a year for education. For details on how lottery funds have made a difference in all of North Carolina’s 100 counties, click on the “Impact” section of the lottery’s website.
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