This browser does not support the Video element.
What are the odds you win the lottery?
What are the odds you win the lottery? You're more likely to be struck by lightning.
A North Carolina man received an unexpected windfall last week from a scratch-off lottery ticket he bought with $20 dollars he found on the ground.
Banner Elk resident Jerry Hicks landed a $1 million prize from the Extreme Cash scratch-off ticket, electing Friday to collect it as a one-time payout of $600,000 – before taxes – the North Carolina Education Lottery said. His post-tax winnings were $429,007.
Hicks said he "found $20 in the parking lot outside the Speedway" in Boone on Tuesday and "used that to buy the ticket" that won him the prize, according to the lottery.
LUCKY LOTTERY PLAYER WINS $9.2M JACKPOT AFTER ACCIDENTALLY PLAYING WRONG GAME
"They actually didn’t have the ticket I was looking for, so I bought that one instead," Hicks said.
The largest prize offered by the $25-per-ticket Extreme Cash scratch-off is $1 million. The chances of winning $1 million from the game stood at 1 in 2,017,650 as of Monday, according to the lottery.
WINNING $478.2M POWERBALL TICKET SOLD IN GEORGIA
Hicks’ post-win plans included a stop at the local Golden Corral restaurant.
The funds will also help Hicks retire from his 56-year carpentry career, the North Carolina Education Lottery said. He also plans to use the money to help his children.
FILE - Scracher lottery tickets are shown in a convenience store. ( Carla Gottgens/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
MICHIGAN MAN HITS LOTTERY JACKPOT DAY AFTER JUST MISSING BIG WIN BY ONE NUMBER
Other North Carolinians pocketed six-figures from lottery wins during the same week.
A man from Gastonia received $429,003 after taxes from $1 million he scored from a $10 scratch-off, according to the lottery. Another in Goldsboro won a $150,000 Powerball prize that amounted to $107,251 after taxes.