NEED TO KNOW
A teacher in New Jersey let a lottery ticket gift sit in their car for weeks before learning it was a $500,000 winner
The educator received the scratch card from a parent during the end of the school year
A $10 card turned out to have a $500,000 top prize, which the teacher said in a press release was a “life-changing” moment
A teacher is celebrating a big win after receiving a gift from a parent.
On Wednesday, July 16, the New Jersey Lottery revealed the latest winner of their $500,000-top-prize ticket in a press release, stating that the teacher who hit it big received gifts from parents during the end of the public school year in June that included multiple lottery scratch cards.
The tickets remained in the educator’s car for a couple of weeks. As they explained in the press release, “I had a stack of cards as gifts, and I had forgotten I left them there.”
“One morning, I went out to the car and thought that I’d see if I won any gas money,” the teacher continued, of the moment before finding out they’d won.
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Stock image of a cups in a car holder
The teacher then played two tickets before holding a $10 card, called “The Shore Thing,” which turned out to have a $500,000 top prize.
“It probably wasn’t smart of me [to leave the tickets in the car].” the winner said. “I’ve been driving around with my puppy. He could’ve eaten them.”
“I get them as gifts, but I never imagined. For me, this is life-changing,“ the winner said.
According to the New Jersey Lottery, “30 cents of every dollar in Lottery sales is contributed to the State pension system, which helps support teachers, along with police, firefighters and other public workers. Since fiscal year 2018, the Lottery has contributed more than $8 billion to pensions.”
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Stock image of a lottery scratch-off ticket
Meanwhile, a North Carolina man won a $1 million prize earlier this month after buying a $10 ticket at a local Wink Mart gas station.
Per a news release by NC Lottery, Ricky Nunnery Jr. from Sanford became the first winner of the $1 million top prize in the state’s new lottery game.
Nunnery revealed he had a dream “that I would hit big on the lottery.” He then went out to buy a $10 ticket at the gas station, as “Something just told me to play.”
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He decided to receive the $1 million in a split — with an initial lump sum of $600,000 and an annual prize of $50,000 over 20 years. After state and federal taxes, he went home with $430,503.
“I’m tickled to death with this,” Nunnery said, revealing that he plans to invest and pay his bills.
Read the original article on People
