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A man who recently moved to North Carolina with his family is loving the Tar Heel State a whole lot more after scoring a $200,000 lottery prize.
Bryan Lofton, of Greensboro, is a transplant from Maryland, moving to North Carolina with his wife and children several months ago, according to a release from the NC Education Lottery. He recently stopped by the Sheetz on U.S. 29 North to pick up a $5 Lincoln scratch-off ticket to try his luck at the lottery, quickly discovering he won big.
"My heart was racing. I read it like 50 times," he said, adding that he called his wife to share the news of the six-figure win. However, he was met with a bit of resistance. "She didn't believe me at first because I'm a prankster. I'm always playing jokes on her."
But his win is no joke and he really did nab the major prize.
"I already liked it here but I'm definitely loving North Carolina now," he said. "This is just icing on the cake."
Lofton claimed his prize at lottery headquarters on Friday (October 28), bringing home a total of $142,021 after all required state and federal tax withholdings. The lucky winner already has a few plans on how they would like to spend the new winnings, including paying bills and finally buy their own home.
"This comes at the perfect time for us," he said. "We are currently in the middle of searching for a home to buy."