For James Holt Jr. of Thomasville, a craving for something crunchy led him to a $200,000 lottery prize.
The customer service rep’s good fortune happened Tuesday night while he was running errands. He stopped by the Food Mart on Randolph Street in Thomasville to buy a bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos. While he was there, he decided to get some scratch-off tickets.
“I knew it was First Tuesday,” Holt said. “So I asked the clerk to show me which tickets were new.”
He bought two Win It All tickets and took them back to his car.
“At first I thought I’d only won my money back,” Holt said. “When I saw the zeros, I went into a state of shock.”
The shock wore off when Holt claimed his prize Wednesday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required state and federal tax withholdings, he took home $141,003. He plans to use some of the money to get himself an early Christmas present.
“I’m going to get a Dodge Challenger,” Holt said. “I’ve been eyeing those cars for a long time now. I can’t believe I can finally get one.”
Every first Tuesday of the month the lottery launches new scratch-off games. Holt is the first player to win a top prize since the $5 game launched earlier this week. Three $200,000 prizes remain.
Ticket sales from games like Win It All 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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