Man wins NC lottery prize after surgery. You can guess how he’ll spend the money

Winning the lottery can send your heart racing, so John Watson may have gotten lucky twice when he won after having heart surgery.

Watson took a chance on the 5 Times Lucky game that launched July 1, and he became the first person to win its top prize, according to the North Carolina Education Lottery.

That’s $200,000 and the odds of winning it are 1 in 1,216,440.

“His lucky win comes only a few weeks after heart surgery,” lottery officials said in a July 17 news release.

Watson and his wife, Lois, picked up their winnings July 16 in Raleigh and she said the win is “just the icing on the cake” as John continues a smooth recovery from surgery, lottery officials said.

The prize came to $143,501 after taxes, officials said.

As for Watson’s spending plan, that’s an easy question for him to answer: “Additional health care.”

The idea of a new truck has also crossed his mind, officials said.

Watson lives in Ash and purchased his $5 ticket at the Scotchman convenience store in Shallotte, about a 165-mile drive south from Raleigh.

Four top prizes of $200,000 remain in the game, lottery officials said.

This story was originally published July 17, 2025 at 2:53 PM with the headline "Man wins NC lottery prize after surgery. You can guess how he’ll spend the money."