Old coin becomes lucky coin when Chapel Hill man wins $2 million

A Chapel Hill man found an old coin under the seat of his car. He used it to scratch off a $20 lottery ticket and won a $2 million prize.

“I was cleaning out the car and found it underneath the seat,” Bobby Gary said. “I told myself, ‘I am going to scratch with this until l get lucky.”

Gary kept the coin because it had a special date on it.

“It was a Chuck E. Cheese coin from 2010, which just happens to be the year we got married,” he said. “I said, ‘I feel like it is going to bring me luck. And it did.’”

Gary bought his Mega 7’s ticket from the Harris Teeter on Hillsborough Road in Durham.

“I called my wife and told her, ‘I just scratched a $2 million ticket,’” he recalled. “I was bawling my eyes out when I called her. I was just so happy.”

Gary collected his prize Thursday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. He chose a lump sum of $1.2 million and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, he took home $851,174.

“If we do it right, this sets us up for the rest of our lives,” he said.

Gary says he plans to pay some bills, invest and potentially buy a house.