‘Put this win to good use.’ NC lottery winner plans to use his money to help homeless
A North Carolina man stared in disbelief at his $5 scratch-off lottery ticket.
“I saw a zero and another zero and another and I said, ‘Wait a minute, this can’t be right,’” Charlotte resident Barry Shipp said when he claimed his $200,000 jackpot at lottery headquarters in Raleigh on Tuesday, according to a lottery news release.
He thought he was reading the numbers wrong, Shipp said about his Pot of Gold ticket, which he bought at the Kangaroo Express on East W.T. Harris Boulevard in Charlotte.
He never expected such a win, because he buys tickets only “once in a blue moon,” he said. “I just do it for enjoyment.”
He beat odds of 1 in 1.2 million, according to the Pot of Gold game page on NC Lottery.com.
After taxes, Shipp took home took home $143,001, according to the lottery.
He said he intends to help the homeless with his winnings.
Shipp is the CEO of the nonprofit Pivot Point Transitional Housing, an organization he founded that builds shelters for the homeless in Charlotte.
“I can really put this win to good use,” he said.
He also plans to pay some bills, he said.
“This is just a day in paradise,” Shipp said.
The Pot of Gold game debuted in December with four $200,000 jackpots. Two of the four remain to be won, officials said.