Chad Wharton of Burlington celebrated his birthday early this year after he won a $150,000 prize in a second-chance drawing.
Wharton, a UPS worker, won the top prize in the Feb. 9 Holiday Winnings second-chance drawing. He turned 47 a little over a week later on Feb. 18.
“It was a great early birthday present,” Wharton said. “I never thought it would happen to me, but it happened.”
The final drawing in the Holiday Winnings promotion collected more than 15.4 million entries as North Carolinians took a second chance with one of their holiday-themed scratch-offs. Wharton said he knew he won a prize when he got the notification email, but he had no idea how much.
“I was so nervous I just crossed my fingers,” Wharton said. “When I opened it, I thought it wasn’t real.”
Wharton claimed his prize Thursday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $106,515. He said he wants to pay off some bills and invest the rest of his winnings.
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