LELAND, N.C. — An unlucky start to a North Carolina manβs day turned upside down when he discovered he won a $2 million lottery prize hours after hitting two deer with his new car.
Anthony Dowe, of Leland, had an accident on his way to work, the North Carolina Education Lottery said in a statement Tuesday. It ruined his day, so he went back home, got into bed and went to sleep.
βThen I woke up and checked my tickets. I checked the fourth ticket and I saw the β4β and then the next number and the next number and the next number,β he said. βIβm like, βWow!β It was just crazy.β
His winning Mega Millions ticket matched all five white balls. The odds? 1 out of 12.6 million.
Dowe took his ticket to a store and won $1 million. That prize doubled when the 2x Megaplier ticket was drawn.
βI went and showed my dad and my mom and everybody was happy,β he said.
On Monday, he claimed his prize at the lottery headquarters in Raleigh and took home about $1.4 million after taxes.
βIt just feels great,β he said. βIβm just gonna fix things on my mother and fatherβs house and get my car fixed, pay it off, and pay my nieceβs car off.β
The rest, he said, will go into savings.
