A North Carolina mechanic won almost $200,000 on a lottery ticket he forgot he purchased.
Gregory Warren of Franklinville, North Carolina, stopped for gas after work and decided to try his luck on a Cash 5 ticket that ended up winning him half of a $391,870 jackpot.
"I don't buy lottery tickets very often," said Warren. "It just so happens I picked a good day to buy one!"
Warren, a mechanic, bought his Quick Pick ticket for the Sept. 29 drawing from the BP on U.S. 64 East in Asheboro. He didn't look at that ticket again until the following week when he remembered he needed to check his numbers.
"I forgot about it," he said Tuesday as he collected his prize at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. "I'm still kind of shocked. I didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night. Too much excitement!"
Warren's ticket was one of two that split the $391,870 jackpot. After required federal and state tax withholdings were deducted from his $195,935 prize, he took home $138,624.
He says the money may afford him the opportunity to change careers.
"I think I'm going into business for myself mowing yards," said Warren. "I've got a 14-year-old son and I wanna get a business started so that he'll have something to do when he graduates from high school."
The second half of the jackpot was claimed by Danielle Godette of New Bern.
Cash 5 tickets are $1 with drawings held every night. The odds of winning a Cash 5 jackpot are 1 in 962,598.
(Click to display full-size in gallery)
Thanks to BobP for the tip.
Unexpected Wins are the Best!
This is why I prefer subscriptions, you can't forget or loose your tickets. Subscription services are also more convenient and efficient. I'm looking forward to an exciting phone call. Hopefully, one day, my ship will come in!
Good luck, to all out there!
Congratulations to Mr. Warren! He mentioned that he did not get a lot of sleep. The prospect of instant cash can turn most of us into insomniacs. The fact that he is investing in his own business is smart and farsighted. Hopefully he will be able to turn $138,624 into several million.
* If Gregory was my mechanic, l would rather he forget about his lottery ticket than forgetting to tighten the bolts on my transmission.
Congrats to the lucky guy.
Good luck with the new family business.
That money will come in handy right now the way inflation is roaring back and gas prices and grocery prices and housing prices are skyrocketing.
We're still in the very early stages of what's going to be an unbelievably horrible 4 years.
And Mr. Hard Times is knockin' on the door already.
How do you forget you bought a lottery ticket?
It happens. I've bought winning Lottery tickets and forgot about them. One was only a $5 winner(Found it long after the 180 days were up) and the other was a free play ticket that I found like one week before the 180 days were up. The free play ticket ended up giving me a ticket that lost anyways. Go figure. ;)