A North Carolina man's hunch about a lottery ticket led to him winning a cool $1 million prize.
Anthony Pinnix, of Burlington, recently stopped by the Rite Stop Market on North Graham Hopedale Road after getting the feeling he should purchase a scratch-off lottery ticket, according to a release from the NC Education Lottery.
"It was a strong feeling in my gut that told me to get that ticket," he said.
While visiting his boss' house, he started to scratch the ticket and discovered that his gut feeling was spot on as the $25 Spectacular Riches ticket he purchased won him $1 million.
"I told him, 'Oh my God you're not going to believe this,'" he recalled. "'I just won a million dollars.'"
While his boss showed a much more immediate response, congratulating him on his massive win, Pinnix's wife was less certain of the reality of the situation when he called to tell her the news.
"She didn't believe me until I got home with the ticket and showed her," he said.
Pinnix claimed his prize at lottery headquarters on Tuesday (July 5) where he had to choose between receiving his prize as an annuity of $50,000 per year over the course of 20 years or as a one time, lump sum payment of $600,000. In the end, he chose the latter, bringing home a grand total of $426,067 after all required state and federal tax withholdings.
When asked what he plans to do with his new winnings, Pinnix told lottery officials he hopes to invest some of the prize and also buy his wife a new car.