Raleigh man will use $1 million top prize to buy a new house
Roosevelt Howard, who worked as a forklift driver for 46 years, plans to use his lottery winnings to buy a new home.
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On Saturday, Roosevelt Howard stopped at the Circle K on South Saunders Street and purchased several tickets, including a $10 Red Hot Riches ticket.
“I usually don’t buy this ticket that often,” said Howard, who has worked as a forklift driver for 46 years. “But Saturday evening I said I’d get one and it just happened to be the right one.”
The next morning, Howard got the surprise of a lifetime when he scratched the ticket on his front porch.
In the Red Hot Riches game, a player wins the prize indicated at the top of the ticket if they scratch off three or more flame symbols.
“I saw three to start with and said, ‘Well at least I got my money back,’” Howard recalled. “And then I kept going and kept seeing more little symbols, and when I got to ten of them, I hadn’t even looked at the ledger to see what ten of them amounted to for the prize! I counted them again to make sure I had won $1 million.”
Howard claimed his prize Monday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. He chose a lump sum of $600,000 and took home $424,503.
Howard said he will keep working despite his new fortune.
“I could retire if I wanted to but I’m going to keep working because I enjoy what I’m doing,” he said. “I’ve always had a dream of winning something like this. Knowing that I can buy my wife a new home and just help some family members and some other people in need, thank the Lord.”
Red Hot Riches launched in May with four top prizes of $1 million. One top prize remains to be won.
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