National

Lottery player does a double take after scratching NC ticket. ‘I just got so excited’

A North Carolina man scratched his lottery ticket to reveal a six-figure prize, lottery officials said.
A North Carolina man scratched his lottery ticket to reveal a six-figure prize, lottery officials said. Photo by the North Carolina Education Lottery

A North Carolina man didn’t believe his lottery win at first, but then he took a second look.

“I cut the light on in the car to check to see if I was seeing it correctly,” Timothy Credle told North Carolina Education Lottery officials. “I thought I was seeing things.”

Credle recalled the moment he scratched his Power 20s lottery game to reveal a $100,000 prize. He purchased the winning ticket from Massey Hill Inc. in Fayetteville, officials said.

He claimed his prize at lottery headquarters April 17 and walked away with $71,506, after taxes, according to officials.

“I just got so excited,” Credle said. “I never thought I’d win something like this.”

The Fayetteville man said he plans to use his winnings to pay a few bills and visit family in Connecticut.

He beat odds of 1 in 926,448.75 to win the $100,000 prize, according to the North Carolina Education Lottery’s website. The overall odds of winning any prize are 1 in 3.23.

Three $2 million top prizes are still up for grabs in the Power 20s game, along with five $100,000 prizes.

“I didn’t believe it at first but now I know it’s real,” Credle said.

Fayetteville is about a 60-mile drive southwest from Raleigh.

Many people can gamble or play games of chance without harm. However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.

If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website.

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This story was originally published April 18, 2024 at 2:10 PM with the headline "Lottery player does a double take after scratching NC ticket. ‘I just got so excited’."

Tanasia Kenney
Sun Herald
Tanasia is a service journalism reporter at the Charlotte Observer | CharlotteFive, working remotely from Atlanta, Georgia. She covers restaurant openings/closings in Charlotte and statewide explainers for the NC Service Journalism team. She’s been with McClatchy since 2020.
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