Retiree ‘felt lucky’ while out for a walk — and NC lottery ticket didn’t let him down
A retiree was on a walk when he decided to play the lottery — and his decision paid off big time in North Carolina.
Don Wayne Hanks was taking a stroll when he “just felt lucky,” the N.C. Education Lottery said Thursday in a news release. He snagged a lottery ticket worth $5, but that was just the start to his lucky streak.
“I hit $5 and I said, ‘What the heck, let’s buy one more...,” Hanks said in the release. “I’ll get on a roll with something but it’s hard to explain, it’s just a gut feeling.”
When he scratched off his latest ticket, he discovered he won $200,000 in the Carolina Panthers lottery game.
“It absolutely took my breath away,” Hanks told officials. “I know my eyes were bugging out of my head like, ‘Wow, finally.”
Hanks, a Cumberland County resident who used to work in the construction industry, bought the winning ticket at the Sunoco Mini Mart in Fayetteville. After taxes, officials say he gets to keep $141,501 in prize money.
“I’m retired now so this is really gonna help me out a lot,” Hanks said in the news release. “I need to buy a new vehicle. I can’t get parts for my old truck, so I’m gonna upgrade.”
He’s not the first person whose walk led to a big windfall.
In June, a North Carolina man was on his daily stroll when he bought a lottery ticket in Salisbury. It turns out, his ticket matched enough numbers to score him $25,000 every year for the rest of his life, McClatchy News reported.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREWhen gambling is more than a game
Gambling is designed to be a source of entertainment.
If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website.
This story was originally published October 30, 2020 at 2:49 PM with the headline "Retiree ‘felt lucky’ while out for a walk — and NC lottery ticket didn’t let him down."
