MINT HILL, NC — A Mecklenburg County man says he plans to take his dream trip to the Grand Canyon after winning $100,000 in the $5,000,000 Mega Cash scratch-off game Monday night.
Mario Saldana II won big just before midnight after purchasing a $20 ticket from the Circle K on Lawyers Road in Charlotte.
“I was just planning to get some snacks,” Gomez Saldana explained. “I grabbed an Airhead, and some Cheerwine. I decided at the last minute to get a lottery ticket.”
Saldana, a house painter, scratched off the ticket in the store and got the surprise of a lifetime.
“I got to the last number and couldn’t believe it,” Gomez Saldana said. “I started shaking. I’ve only bought like 10 lottery tickets in my life. It’s crazy!”
Officials say Saldana will take home roughly $70,500 after required state and federal taxes, and he says he plans to use some of that money to take a dream trip to the Grand Canyon this summer.
“I’ve always wanted to go there,” Gomez Saldana said. “Now I’ll have the chance.”
Saldana says he plans to take the summer off from work to take the much anticipated trip.
