Lottery player thought he was dreaming when he scratched his winning NC ticket
Paul Cobler Jr. has had a restless few nights.
On Saturday, Jan. 21, the 51-year-old stopped at Walmart and bought a $5 scratch-off lottery ticket. He went home, turned on the TV and started scratching, he told North Carolina lottery officials, according to a Jan. 23 news release.
That’s when he learned he won a $250,000 top prize, officials said.
“I was in disbelief,” Cobler told officials. “I just kept thinking, ‘This can’t be real.’”
After seeing his prize, Cobler had a hard time sleeping.
“I was just trying to figure out if I was dreaming or something,” he said.
On Monday, Cobler collected his prize from the lottery headquarters, officials said. He took home $178,126 after taxes.
The machinist said he plans to use his prize to add his retirement savings, as well as pay off his house and car, he told officials.
“Hopefully from here on out it will be an earlier retirement than I was expecting,” he said.
Cobler bought his winning ticket at the Walmart on Northwest Boulevard in Newton, about 50 miles northwest of Charlotte.
This story was originally published January 23, 2023 at 7:15 PM with the headline "Lottery player thought he was dreaming when he scratched his winning NC ticket."
