Fayetteville man almost loses winning lottery ticket to wind gust
A Fayetteville man is counting his blessings after his winning $489,211 Cash 5 ticket didn't get blown away by a gust of wind.
Posted — Updated“Whenever I get my tickets, I put them in my car door,” John Hepburn said. “I don’t check them for a few days. Sometimes they blow away when I open the car door. ”
Hepburn, a retired Goodyear Tire plant manager, said that’s almost what happened to the Cash 5 ticket he bought in Raeford for Friday’s drawing.
“I put the ticket where I always put them,” Hepburn said. “A few of my tickets blew out of the car the next day, so I figured I should probably check the other ones and see if I won anything.”
When he had a clerk scan the ticket, he said he heard music play.
“I wasn’t exactly sure what that meant,” Hepburn said. “But I knew I won something, so I immediately signed the back of my ticket."
He said his son helped him figure out his winnings.
Hepburn claimed his prize Monday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required state and federal tax withholdings, he took home $346,117.
He plans to use the money to pay his mortgage and do something nice for his grandchildren.
Related Topics
• Credits
Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
