Factory worker thought he was ‘seeing things’ when he won $2 million in NC lottery
When 53-year-old Robert Hamrick scratched off his North Carolina lottery ticket, the prize in front of him was too big to believe.
“I really thought I was seeing things,” Hamrick told lottery officials.
The factory worker should have been seeing dollar signs — he’d just won $2 million, lottery officials said in a May 23 news release.
Hamrick bought his $20 Premier Cash scratch-off ticket from the Shop & Save in Marion, according to lottery officials. He waited until he got home to scratch the ticket and when he saw the prize, he told lottery officials he had to make his wife check, too.
“She looked like she was about to faint,” Hamrick told lottery officials.
Hamrick had to choose between collecting an annual prize of $100,000 over 20 years or cashing out a lump sum of $1.2 million, lottery officials said. He chose to take out the lump sum and took home $852,126 after taxes.
Hamrick told lottery officials he wanted to put the winnings toward his church, his family and fixing up his home.
Marion is about 94 miles northwest of Charlotte.
This story was originally published May 23, 2022 at 4:57 PM with the headline "Factory worker thought he was ‘seeing things’ when he won $2 million in NC lottery."
