Posted on 08/06/2020 5:33:00 AM PDT by Red Badger
July 29 (UPI) -- A North Carolina man on the hunt for the final top prize in a scratch-off lottery game said he visited about 40 different stores before scratching off the $5 million winner.
Kevin Clark of Candler told North Carolina Education Lottery officials he read there was only one top prize remaining in the $5,000,000 Mega Cash scratch-off game, so he set off Thursday to buy as many of the $20 tickets as he could locate.
"I had a real good feeling it was going to be in the western part of the state," Clark said. "I went to about 40 different stores and bought every single last Mega Cash ticket I could find."
Clark's pricey gamble paid off when he scanned a ticket he purchased from the Stop N Go on U.S. 70 in Swannanoa.
"I scanned it with my phone and it told me to go see a retailer," he recalled. "So, I scratched it off and when I scratched it off I couldn't believe it! I started shaking. And then I cried."
Clark took the option of accepting his prize as a $3 million lump sum, which amounted to $2,122,506 after taxes.
"I'm a simple man and I mow grass," Clark said. "But I've always been interested in real estate, so my biggest plans with the majority of the money is to invest in real estate and some small businesses."
Man on a mission - great story - did he use his weekly $600 to buy the tickets ?
Hmmm... interesting how he knew that.
Give him credit for perseverance. Nice ROI.
wow.. so stupid. Han’t even had it a day and has lost 60% of it! ROFL
2.2 Mil after taxes and immediately deposited is still really good business seed money. He sounds like the kind of person who knows what to do with an investment, because having money and keeping money takes work.
Something fishy here. Inside information perhaps? I am going to set a Google Alert for this guy.
I wonder how many of his other tickets won something?...................
With scratch tickets you can go online and find out how many of the tickets have “hit” and how many tickets are left of that specific type.
I don’t think you can see “where” they are in a particular state, but viewing a list of winners, that is not difficult.
At some point, it becomes almost a mathematical certainty that you will get the ticket, if you buy enough of them.
This happens in any lottery situation. Mathematially possible does not mean that my wife would allow ME to cash in all of our assets to buy a thousand scratch offs.
Likely weekly state tallies of winners and how many outstanding is available.
Anyone could have done this.
Agreed as I doubt that his investment was much over $25k BUT how many have followed similar plans only to NOT GET that prize because someone else paid for a single $20 ticket. True he probably won some smaller prizes in this hunt but it is a risky venture. Gambling on the stock market is a far saner risk at almost every level above 'penny stocks'!
This is so OBVIOUS.
What are the chances????
The state advertises $5 million and pays $3 million. The state would not let an individual or business do this.
If this man can scan tickets for the “see retailer” message on his phone, what prevents shopkeepers from doing the same with each roll of scratch-off tickets?
My guess is that the tickets are not ‘activated’ until purchased and thus ‘registered’ to the state with revenue expected.
So, how much did he spend?
Just enough..................
Good point. Thanks.
Not a bad scam: Advertise $5 million.
Offer to pay only $3 million lump sum.
Then tax the $3 million immediately.
Then tax all of the interest every year thereafter until he is dead!
And that is just the state taxes! Guy is already receiving less than half the advertised amount.
Yes I thought the same thing. I worked in a gas station in the 60’s as my first job. They had a scratch off ticket that the station paid instant cash. We would sit around in our spare time and scratch until we go a couple of winners and “cash them in” when the station owner was out.
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