‘Heck yeah, that’s $20,’ lottery winner in NC says. But the zeroes didn’t stop there
Roger Burleson likes to buy new scratch-offs after the North Carolina Education Lottery releases them, he told officials.
That’s how he came to be $200,000 richer.
“It’s First Tuesday week,” he said. “I always try to buy a couple of the new ones.”
Burleson, from Rockwell, is the first player to win the top prize on the $5 Emerald Green 8 scratch-offs after they were launched Tuesday, officials said in a news release. Three top prizes remain.
He bought a few tickets at an ice cream shop and market in Salisbury — about 40 miles northeast of Charlotte — before work on Wednesday, according to the release.
Then he started scratching in the parking lot.
“I was about halfway through the ticket,” Burleson said. “I wasn’t thinking anything of it. Then I saw the first zero and thought, ‘Heck yeah, that’s $20.’ Then I saw the third zero, ‘Alright, that’s $200 now!’ When I saw the fourth zero, I started to get excited. The zeroes just kept on coming!”
The odds of winning were one in 1.26 million, game statistics show.
Burleson took home $141,501 after taxes, officials said. He plans on paying off his sister’s new car with his winnings.
But before he does that?
“I’m first going to buy myself a little pick-up truck,” Burleson said.
This story was originally published March 5, 2020 at 6:13 PM with the headline "‘Heck yeah, that’s $20,’ lottery winner in NC says. But the zeroes didn’t stop there."
