Lottery player follows mom’s advice — and wins huge NC prize. ‘Mama is always right’
Donald Pittman was driving to work recently when his hand started itching — and he was reminded of a piece of advice from his mother.
“My mom used to always say if your hand is itching to put it in your pocket and money is going to come to you,” Pittman told lottery officials, according to a June 30 North Carolina Education Lottery news release.
Following that old superstition, Pittman stuck his hand in his pocket and stopped at Waves Mart & Grill in Newport where he bought a $5 Ruby Red 7’s scratch-off ticket, he told officials. He scratched his ticket and discovered a $200,000 prize.
“Mama is always right, isn’t she?” Pittman told officials.
After seeing his prize, Pittman took his ticket back inside so the retailer at the store could scan and verify his win, according to officials.
“When she saw the amount, her eyes bulged out of her head,” he said.
Pittman said he then alerted his wife to his win, sending her a picture of the ticket. At first, she didn’t understand that he had won.
“She sent back question marks,” Pittman told officials. “I told her to look at the number and then the texting was over and it was a phone call.”
After taxes, Pittman took home $142,501, which he plans to put toward a dirt bike and in his savings, according to officials.
Newport is about 90 miles northeast of Wilmington near the Carolina coast..
This story was originally published June 30, 2023 at 9:21 AM with the headline "Lottery player follows mom’s advice — and wins huge NC prize. ‘Mama is always right’."
