Winner's eventful night led to it being one of the best days of his life

By Kate Northrop

LEXINGTON, N.C. — A North Carolina man says his $100,000 lottery win is all thanks to "the perfect storm" that involved a Post Malone concert, severe rains, and a bathroom break.

All those factors led up to the moment Thomasville resident Zachary Sharpe won a $100,000 scratch-off prize from the North Carolina Lottery, he says.

"It was a wonderful day," Sharpe told the Lottery. "One of the best days of my life."

On Saturday, Sharpe and his wife and children drove to Charlotte to see Post Malone perform in a concert.

"It was incredible," Sharpe recalled. "He puts on a wonderful show."

During the show, however, thunderstorm clouds brewed up above, and severe rain delayed the performance. That was the first domino to fall in a series of events that eventually led up to the win. The storm caused him to drive back much later than he originally planned.

"I think about all of the factors that played into when I got to that store," he explained. "It was the perfect storm."

On the way back home, Sharpe and his family stopped at a Sheetz convenience store on South Main Street in Lexington for a bathroom break.

"We stopped so they could use the restroom," he went on. "I bought a couple tickets and started scratching."

His first ticket won him quite a decent prize — $300 — but his second ticket, from the $30 "Black Titanium" game, was the one that stole the show.

"When I scratched it off, I about passed out," he laughed. "I was literally speechless. We all were."

He had won the game's $100,000 second-tier prize.

Sharpe visited Lottery headquarters in Raleigh on Monday to collect his prize, taking home $71,259 after state and federal taxes. With the prize money, he'll pay for his children's education, bills, and save the rest for another rainy day.

Following Sharpe's win, 12 out of 16 available second-tier prizes of $100,000 remain. There are also five out of six top prizes of $4 million and 28 out of 32 third-tier prizes of $30,000 left to claim in the game, which launched in June.

(Click to display full-size in gallery)Zachary Sharpe bought two scratch-off tickets during a bathroom stop on the way home from Charlotte and won with both tickets, including one $100,000 prize.