After picking up a penny off the ground, John Grant of Bolivia picked up a $100,000 lottery prize too.

His good fortune happened after he stopped at the store for gas, added a scratch-off ticket, saw the penny on the ground beside his truck, and used it to scratch his Fabulous Fortune ticket.

“I guess it was fate,” Grant said.

Grant, 59, bought his lucky ticket from the May Way Company on Sunset Harbor Road in Bolivia. He sat down in front of the Intracoastal Waterway and watched some men fish as he scratched his ticket.

“My heart started beating real fast,” Grant said. “I wasn’t sure what I was seeing.”

Grant collected his prize at lottery headquarters Tuesday and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $71,019.

He said he would put most of the money in savings but might also buy a new Chevrolet Silverado truck.

Fabulous Fortune debuted in July with six $3 million prizes and 18 $100,000 prizes. Four $3 million top prizes and 12 $100,000 prizes remain to be claimed.

Ticket sales from scratch-offs make it possible for the lottery to raise $2.5 million a day on average for education. For details on how $5.6 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Brunswick County in 2021, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.