North Carolina Man Wants To 'Enjoy Life' After $1 Million Lottery Win

A North Carolina man is looking forward to living life in peace and enjoying himself after scoring a massive prize off a scratch-off lottery ticket.

Ronnie Woods, of Gastonia, recently stopped by the Save Mart on Union Road where, at the last minute, he decided to purchase a $10 50X The Cash ticket, according to a release from the NC Education Lottery.

"I was going to walk out the door but something told me to just go ahead and get it," said the 66-year-old former member of the Navy and Marine Corp.

That little voice inside him guiding his way led him to a $1 million prize. After he found out he won, he called his son to share the news. However, like many other winners before him, he was met with disbelief. In fact, Woods' son thought it was all a joke.

"I asked him, 'What would you say if I told you I won a million dollars?'" he recalled. "He said, 'That's a good joke.' So I took a picture and sent it to him."

Woods claimed his prize at lottery headquarters on Tuesday (February 7), where he had to choose to receive his win as either an annuity of $50,000 over the course of 20 years or as a one time, lump sum payment of $600,000. In the end, he chose the latter, taking home a grand total of $427,503 after all required state and federal tax withholdings.

When asked what he plans to dow with his prize, he told lottery officials he wants to pay off his mortgage, do some renovations around his home, and simply enjoy life.

"You never know what's around the corner," he said. "I just want to live in peace and enjoy life."