Jerry Hicks, an unassuming North Carolina man, walked over to a local convenience store. On the way, he'd find a stray $20 that would change his life.
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"I found $20 in the parking lot outside the Speedway," Hicks recalled to NC Education Lottery. "I used that to buy the ticket."
Upon using the scratch ticket, Hicks would reveal he'd won the $1,000,000 cash prize. The Extreme Cash scratch-off is what provided the insane sum. Funnily enough, that's not the usual ticket Hicks would go for. What was merely a substitute had won him what he'd been looking for.
North Carolina Man Turns $20 Into $1,000,000
Hicks is a carpenter and has been working in the field for 56 long years. With this cash prize, he plans to retire and help out his children.
Unfortunately, he wouldn't be taking the full million dollars home. He had two options. To accept the million dollars as a payment of $50,000 a year over the next 20 years, or as a lump sum of $600,000. Considering his age, the lump sum was the wiser choice.
Not only did he have to sacrifice 40% of his winnings to gain access to them right away, but naturally taxes cut a bit off the top. In the end, Hicks was left with exactly $429,007. It's still a lot of money, but it's less than half of what he won.
He'll use the money wisely as he helps his kids. Although not before a little fun, "We are going to head straight to Golden Corral and eat everything they've got." Not a bad shout at all.
As awesome as these stories are, it's important not to put yourself in the winner's shoes. At the end of the day, you likely won't win anything near as much as Hicks did. It's also unknown how much he spent on lotto tickets throughout his life before his win. Considering he had a "usual" lotto ticket, it's likely he invested a decent portion of cash before he got lucky.
Granted, he probably didn't spend nearly half a million dollars on scratch tickets; I'm just telling you to be careful. I am very happy for Hicks and his family, however, and I hope they enjoy this fortune.
