Two hurricanes battered a North Carolina man’s home — but he just won the lottery
A North Carolina man says he’ll use his lottery prize to repair his home, which was damaged by hurricanes.
Mark Hall Jr. of Robeson County stopped to get gas in Lumberton on Monday afternoon and bought a $5 All About The Bens scratch-off ticket, according to the North Carolina Education Lottery.
“I only play the lottery once in a blue moon,” Hall told lottery officials. “If I do play, I normally only get the $1 scratch-off tickets. Something told me to play higher, so I did.”
Buying a more expensive ticket paid off.
Hall took the ticket back to his van to scratch it and told lottery officials he was speechless when he realized he had won $200,000.
“I wasn’t sure what I won at first,” Hall said, according to lottery officials. “I showed my dad and said, ‘I think I won $200’. He looked at the ticket and told me that I needed to look at it again. That’s when I saw the $200,000. My head started spinning.”
Hall told lottery officials he plans to use some of the money to fix his home, which still needs repairs after being damaged during Hurricane Matthew and Hurricane Florence.
Hurricane Matthew hit North Carolina as a Category 1 storm in October 2016 and brought more than 10 inches of rain and deadly flooding to many areas, including Robeson County, according to the National Weather Service.
About two years later, Hurricane Florence hit North Carolina at a Category 1 in September 2018, bringing record-breaking rainfall and more flooding, according to the National Weather Service. Robeson County officials estimate that the storm damaged more than 500 structures.
“The home I’m living in was damaged by both storms,” Hall said, according to lottery officials. “We still have repairs to do. I’ll use some of the money for that, but I also want to use the money to go to school.”
Hall told lottery officials he wasn’t able to go right after high school.
“I do landscaping and electrical work right now, but after I go back to school, I could open my own business,” he said, according to the lottery. “This is going to open up a whole new world for me.”
He claimed his prize Tuesday, according to the lottery, and took home $141,501 after taxes.
“Thank you Jesus!” Hall said when he got the check, according to the lottery. “I feel so blessed right now. Thank you!”
Hall won the last of four top prizes in the game, which launched in June, according to the lottery.
