Contractor tries his luck on NC lottery ticket. Prize left him ‘at a loss for words’
A North Carolina contractor tried his luck on a lottery ticket — and the jackpot prize left him speechless.
“I’m really just kind of at a loss for words right now,” Jordan Barnes said in a June 12 news release.
Now Barnes, a 27-year-old avid sports fan, said he has big dreams for how he will spend the prize money.
“My favorite baseball team is the Red Sox so it would definitely be fun to go back to Boston to see them play,” Barnes told the N.C. Education Lottery. “I also love the Tar Heels and would love to go to a UNC-Duke game.”
Barnes basked in his windfall after stopping at a Minuteman Food Mart in Ocean Isle Beach, near the South Carolina border. While at the store, he spent $30 on a ticket for the Millionaire Maker scratch-off game, officials said.
It turns out, the ticket was worth $100,000. Barnes, who is from coastal Brunswick County, kept $71,259 after taxes, officials said.
“I just got lucky I guess,” Barnes told lottery officials. “I can do a lot of different things with that money.”
In addition to attending games, Barnes said he hopes his prize money will allow him to invest.
It’s not the first time a sports fan has celebrated a six-figure lottery prize in North Carolina. A man watching his beloved team lose thought his luck “couldn’t get any worse” — then learned that he won big, McClatchy News reported in November.
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This story was originally published June 13, 2023 at 7:51 AM with the headline "Contractor tries his luck on NC lottery ticket. Prize left him ‘at a loss for words’."
