Longtime repairman almost passes out after seeing eye-popping amount

By Kate Northrop

A North Carolina man nearly fainted after finding out he won $100,000 in a second chance lottery drawing, and now he's focused on spoiling himself with top quality cuts.

One stunned lottery winner is looking forward to ditching the more cost-effective options in his diet and upgrading to the good stuff after scooping up a $100,000 win in a second chance drawing resulting from a $50 ticket.

Joseph Greer of Boone is looking forward to a retirement that's better than he originally anticipated since discovering he was the winner of a $100,000 prize in a second chance drawing from the North Carolina Lottery.

"This will help a whole lot," Greer told Lottery officials.

Greer, who has spent the last 40 years working as an appliance repairman, found out about the win after receiving a notification from the Lottery, leading to a rather dizzying moment of realization.

"I about passed out," he recalled. "It was pretty crazy."

Out of 979,465 entries in the second of four $8 million Money Maker Second Chance drawings, his was the lucky entry that was chosen to win $100,000.

He explained to Lottery staff that he already knows he'd like to put the majority of his winnings toward retirement, but he's also ready to see an immediate benefit come to fruition.

"I'm tired of eating the thin bologna," Greer laughed. "I want the thick bologna now."

On Aug. 12, he showed up at Lottery headquarters in Raleigh to claim his prize and took home $71,750 after state and federal taxes.

"I'm still in awe," the winner remarked.

North Carolina players can enter the $8 million Money Maker Second Chance drawings by scanning their "$8 Million Money Maker" scratch-off tickets into their lottery accounts. Each drawing offers one top prize of $1 million, three second-tier prizes of $100,000, 10 $25,000 third-tier prizes, and 50 fourth-tier prizes of $500.

There are two more drawings yet to take place. The entry period for the upcoming draw on April 8, 2026 runs from now until April 5, 2026. The fourth and final entry period and draw date have yet to be announced.

 The "$8 Million Money Maker" scratch-off game is a $50 instant ticket that offers five top prizes of $8 million, three of which remain. There are also seven out of ten second-tier prizes of $100,000 and 23 out of 40 third-tier prizes of $25,000 left to claim in the game, which launched in December 2024.

The overall odds of winning any prize in the game are 1 in 4.14.