Lottery player ‘wanted to holler’ at gas station after NC win. ‘Tried to keep it cool’
A lottery player bought a “life-changing” ticket — and tried to contain his excitement.
“I cracked a smile when I first saw it,” Danny Johnson Jr. told the North Carolina Education Lottery. “But I tried to keep it cool.”
Johnson was at a gas pump when he checked his scratch-off ticket, discovering it was worth $150,000.
“I wanted to holler but I knew better,” Johnson, who lives in Greensboro, told lottery officials in a Dec. 2 news release.
Johnson got richer after stopping at a BP gas station in High Point. While there, officials said he spent $5 on a ticket for the Holiday Cash 50X game.
Though Johnson tried to remain calm, he was “shocked” when he scored the game’s top prize. The lucky winner, who kept $107,251 after taxes, said he plans to put the money toward a long-awaited home remodeling project.
“My house has needed a lot of work for years,” Johnson said. “This win is life-changing.”
It’s not the first time a lottery player has learned of a lucky win at a gas station. In South Carolina, a man was pumping gas when his wife told him he hit the jackpot, McClatchy News reported.
This story was originally published December 3, 2024 at 9:23 AM with the headline "Lottery player ‘wanted to holler’ at gas station after NC win. ‘Tried to keep it cool’."
