Bobby Gary of Chapel Hill found an old coin a few days ago, used it to scratch his $20 lottery ticket, and won a $2 million prize.
“I was cleaning out the car and found it underneath the seat,” Gary said. “I told myself, ‘I am going to scratch with this until l get lucky.”
Gary said he kept the coin because it had a special date on it.
“It was a Chuck E. Cheese coin from 2010, which just happens to be the year we got married,” he said. “I said, ‘I feel like it is going to bring me luck. And it did.’”
Gary bought his Mega 7’s ticket from the Harris Teeter on Hillsborough Road in Durham.
“I called my wife and told her, ‘I just scratched a $2 million ticket,’” he recalled. “I was bawling my eyes out when I called her. I was just so happy.”
When Gary arrived at lottery headquarters Thursday to collect his prize, he had a decision to make. He could choose to receive the prize as an annuity of $100,000 over 20 years or a lump sum of $1.2 million. He chose the lump-sum amount of $1.2 million and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $851,174.
“If we do it right, this sets us up for the rest of our lives,” he said.
Gary says he plans to pay some bills, invest, and potentially buy a house.
Mega 7’s debuted in October with four $2 million prizes and eight $100,000 prizes. Since Gary won the last top prize, the lottery will begin the process of ending the game.
Check out Gary's story in the video below.
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