Winner says $200,000 means new truck for Christmas

A $200,000 Thanksgiving Eve lottery win means Thomas Matthews Jr. of Burlington can get a new truck for Christmas. “It’s been giving me some problems,” Matthews said. “So it will be nice to get a new one.” Matthews, a construction worker, was on his way to get his truck washed when he bought a 20X The Cash ticket. When he scratched it, he couldn’t believe his good fortune. “I started crying,” Matthews said. “I still feel like I must be dreaming.”

Melissa Gray of Wilson is counting her blessings this Thanksgiving, especially her decision not to get rid of a lottery ticket worth $150,000.  “I scratched the first row and thought I didn’t win anything,” Gray said. She was going to throw the Holiday Riches ticket away, but decided to check her ticket one more time when she got home. That’s when she saw the $150,000 prize. “I can’t believe I almost passed it over,” she said.

Going back to school is now a possibility for Daytona Keeling of Asheboro after he won $200,000 playing the Carolina Panthers scratch-off game. “It’s a miracle,” Keeling said of the win. “I plan to study graphic communications.” Keeling, who works at a pretzel stand, said he doesn’t normally play the lottery, but decided to get a ticket on a whim. “I just felt lucky, and had some extra money,” Keeling said. At first he couldn’t believe what he saw. “I was caught off guard,” he said.

For most people their hair stands on end when they’re frightened, but for Patrick Davenport of Leland, when the hair on his arm stands on end, it’s a sign of good luck. That’s exactly what happened Wednesday before he won a $110,000 Cash 5 jackpot. Davenport, who owns his own painting business, said he knew he would win that afternoon. “I told my employees, ‘I’m going to win,’” Davenport said. “Then the hair stood up on my arms.” And sure enough, he beat the odds of 1 in 749,398 to win the jackpot. When he told his employees they were in shock. “I told them with a straight face and they didn’t believe me at first,” Davenport said. “Then I started smiling and jumping up and down.”

Four players won $20,000 to $50,000:

- David McIntyre of Shelby: $50,000 (Carolina Millions)
- James Clark of Hope Mills: $40,000 (Winter Winnings)
- Dee Dee Green of Snow Hill: $20,000 (Carolina Black)
- Alvin Corpening of Lenoir: $20,000 (20X The Cash)

Five more scratched off $10,000:

- Mireya Noyola of Winston-Salem (20X The Cash)
- Tony Collins of Nebo (Ruby Red 7's)
- Alfred Yankovich of Concord ($4,000,000 Platinum Payout)
- David Myers of Smithfield ($4,000,000 Multiplier Spectacular)
- Craig Hambrick of Franklin (Ruby Red 7's)

A dozen players won $5,000. The winners are from: Asheboro, Browns Summit, Charlotte, Durham, Fayetteville, Four Oaks, High Point, Kernersville, Mooresville, Reidsville, Rougemont, and Wilson.

In all that's 25 wins of $5,000 to $200,000 this week. There's a lot to be thankful for. We appreciate that you all spend time with us here in the players' club. We wish you peace, love and happiness on Thanksgiving and every day.