Extreme Money: A North Carolina man wins a million dollars in the lottery with a $20 bill he found on the ground

CNN
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When a North Carolina man walked to a supermarket on Tuesday, he had no idea that luck was on his side.

Jerry Hicks, a master carpenter from Banner Elk, found a $20 bill in the store's parking lot, he said in a news release. He spent it on a scratch-off lottery ticket – and won $1 million.

Hicks used the money to purchase an Extreme Cash scratch-off ticket, the release said.

“They actually didn’t have the ticket I was looking for, so I bought this instead,” he said.

Hicks accepted his prize Friday at the North Carolina Education Lottery headquarters. According to the press release, he chose to receive the award as a lump sum of $600,000 rather than as a 20-year annuity.

After taxes, Hicks took home $429,007, according to the lottery.

Hicks plans to use the money to help his children and retire after 56 years as a carpenter, the release said.

But first, Hicks wants to enjoy his victory.

“We’re going to go straight to Golden Corral and eat everything they have,” he said.

correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled the name Banner Elk.