HENDERSON COUNTY, N.C. — For Steven Tuttle of Flat Rock, North Carolina, the recent gas shortage almost cost him a $1 million lottery prize.
He usually gets his gas at the Ingles on Highland Lake Road in Flat Rock, but had stopped going there when the price rose during the shortage.
"I almost didn't stop," Tuttle said. "When I saw that the price of gas had dropped back down, I turned around."
While he was there, Tuttle decided to get a $1,000,000 Bonus Cash scratch-off ticket.
He scratched the $10 ticket while getting gas. When he realized he won, Tuttle was so shocked he stopped filling up his tank.
"I didn't know what to do," Tuttle said. "I got into my truck and locked the door. To think I came that close to not stopping."
He claimed his prize Monday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh.
Tuttle had the choice of taking a $1 million annuity that has 20 payments of $50,000 a year or a lump sum of $600,000. He chose the lump sum and after federal and state tax withholdings received $415,503. He plans to use the money to pay off his house.
$1,000,000 Bonus Cash launched in July with four top prizes of $1 million. Two top prizes remain.
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"I didn't know what to do"....."I got in my truck and locked the door"
!!!!
That is EXACTLY how you feel, that is sooo funny!
Great story and I'm happy he turned around and went back.
WTG Tuttle!!
WOW now that's worth turning around for. Congrads Mr. Tuttle WTG
Love the reaction. Congrats on your win. :)
Nice!
with scratch offs you have to go to the right store at the right time and buy the right ticket. 3 tough hurdles to get past to win. now did he set the automatic gas tank dispensing nozzle so he could scratch the ticket while it dispensed the gas or did he hold the trigger with his left hand while scratching the ticket with his right hand. that would be sick. i'm guessing the former and he just stopped the auto pumping (which stops when tank is full by itself) midstream and jumped in his truck and locked it (who would know he had just scratched a winning ticket) because he was worried about theft apparently. whatever he did it worked and just goes to show you how much luck plays into it.
So let me ge this straight. He didn't want to get gas because he thought the price was too high, yet he had no issues with spending $10.00 on a scratch ticket?
I see nothing wrong with his logic. Paying for a scratch ticket is entertainment that can yield lots of money. Paying too much for gas throws money in the garbage, with no entertainment value. The guy has his priorities straight, as far as I'm concerned.
I think it 's awesome that he won but have to disagree about his priorities, necessity (gas) over entertainment (lottery)
He made out with both deals... he got his gas cheaper and in so getting it cheaper he could afford to buy a 10.00 scratch off..... I think he made a smart move...
Steven stopped filling up gas the minute he discovered he had won..Yes! That's the reaction one would expect. Everything grinds to a halt when you know you a winner. Congratulations Steven.
Btw- people stop off at gas stations all the time to just use the restroom, no different than picking up a scratcher.
Considering most scratchers are losing tickets, it's my opinion that If a man is that frugal with his money, the last thing he would do is risk 10 dollars. In his case I guess he got lucky, but most people would lose that 10 bucks.
Kind of reminds me of people who go to a fast food chain and order a Big Mac, large fries, apple pie, and a diet coke.
Some people have a thing about getting gas for a low price per gallon. It doesn't make him cheap, or poor or crazy.
Maybe he's mad at companies who sell gas for .05/.10 higher and it's a principle thing.
You are not going to get anything from buying gas except getting to work, to the store or to where ever you have to go.
Buying a lottery ticket for $10 isn't such a big deal, you could get lucky just like he did. And you could lose but taking
a chance on it is the only way you're going to win.
Now if the store had a sign like WE SELL LOTTERY TICKETS HERE and he turned around to get one, I'd be thinking,
wow that's kinda weird especially if that was a station he purposely avoided.
They happened to have lottery tickets, he happened to buy one, he happens to like cheaper gas and he happened to win.
It reminds me of people who go out to buy their favorite ticket and the bin is empty and they choose the one next to it
and win $1,000,000. Everything to do with chance, nothing to do with cheap.
Good story.
Big Mac 540 kcal
Large Fries 500 kcal
Apple Pie 250 kcal
Coke 310 kcal vs 0 kcal
Total of 1600 kilocalories vs 1290 kilocalories
If you want to spend your calories on something more substantial than softdrinks then why not? I'm waiting for the day the quarter pounder doesn't have any calories, personally.
If I had to decide between gas and scratchers I would have gone with a QP for Powerball or Megmillions, Scratchers are way to expensive.
maybe so, but he wanted instant gratification from his lottery purchase. proof of that is that he couldn't even wait to scratch it until after he gassed up. he multi-tasked it and probably was on the phone at the same time. some people buy their pball/mega and patiently wait for the drawing. others cannot wait which is why there are 70 different kinds of scratch tickets behind most counters for the instant gratifcation crowd which far outnumbers the patient ones.
Well we know he is honest and did not claim he was a first time player.
I think we all "budget" for different things. I set a limited budget for the lottery even though I could afford much more. But to me, spending more is not reasonable. I won't buy an expensive car and stick to affordable models since they depreciate. Could I afford a higher end one? Yes, but to me that is silly and I am not into cars. This winner's "thing" was not spending too much on gas. Maybe his extra money was going towards paying his home off early.
.
To those who may still be shaking their heads about his gas vs lotto economy issue:
He does mention that" he got in his "truck" and locked the door.
Truck fill-ups aren't cheap (for him, before he knew he'd won). I imagine it's a Dodge Ram, or some Ford.
A chance at lotto, is a chance at a lot of money.
2 different issues entirely (gas for the truck, or scratch ticket)
So, debating between a fill up at this or that station makes sense.
What does it cost to fill a full size pick up truck these days? $150 for premium?
$10 for a scratch off? YES! GO WITH IT!
I'm glad it worked out for him.
I'm glad he won, but when are we going to see a winner from eastern N.C.?
Not sure I understand the gas price commotion.
I can fill up at the C-store where I buy my tix. But I don't because gas there is about 10-20 cents a gallon more than at the Tom Thumb gas station. I like buying my tix at the C-store more than Tom Thumb. But I'm not paying an extra 20 cents a gallon for gas.
He didn't want to either. Buying gas has nothing to do with buying lottery tix.
I drive a 2007 Ford F-150 with a six cylinder. Gets 14.5 mpg. I can fill up for $40 when it gets to a quarter tank, about 20 gallons.
No, I don't want a newer one that gets better mileage. It's paid for. I drive 500 miles a month. It has 65,000 miles. I'll drive it until the wheels fall off.
I don't understand the kvetching about him wanting cheaper gas and buying a lottery ticket. It's a huge assumption to think that he would not have bought a ticket wherever he purchased his gas. It just happened that he went back to his old station when the price dropped. Being in the right place at the right time has made him a hundred-thousandaire.
Congratulations Mr,Steven Tuttle