Tomas Alberto Varela Leon of Bunnlevel stopped for gas and some coffee after work and figured he’d treat himself to some scratch-off tickets. One of those tickets made him $200,000 richer.
Leon bought three scratch-off tickets at the Circle K off U.S. 421 South in Broadway. “I won $5 on the first one,” he recalls. The second was not a winner, but then he struck gold off the $5 GOLD game.
“I will pay off my car,” he said. “And start looking for a house to buy.”
Leon claimed his prize Wednesday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After federal and state tax withholdings, he took home $129,500.
Because Leon won the final $200,000 top prize in the GOLD game, the lottery will begin steps to end the game.
Ticket sales from scratch-off games make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $700 million per year for education. For details on how $8 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Harnett County last year, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.