ROWAN COUNTY, N.C. — A Rowan County man has become the first player to win the top prize of $200,000 in a new lottery scratch-off game.
Roger Burleson, of Rockwell, decided to take a quick stop before work on a Wednesday morning after knowing knew scratch-offs had just came out the day before.
“It’s First Tuesday week,” Burleson said in a news release. “I always try to buy a couple of the new ones.”
Burleson got a Emerald Green 8’s ticket at the Charlie’s Market on Faith Road in Salisbury.
He bought a few tickets just like normal and walked back to this car. Standing in the parking lot, he started scratching.
“I was about halfway through the ticket,” Burleson recalled. “I wasn’t thinking anything of it. Then I saw the first zero and thought, ‘Heck yeah, that’s $20.’ Then I saw the third zero, ‘Alright, that’s $200 now!’ When I saw the fourth zero, I started to get excited. The zeroes just kept on coming!”
Burleson claimed his prize Thursday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required state and federal tax withholdings, he took home $141,501.
Burleson already knows the first thing he will do with the money.
“I’m first going to buy myself a little pick-up truck,” Burleson said. “Then I am going to pay off my sister’s car. She just bought it a month ago.”
The $5 ticket launched on Tuesday with four top prizes of $200,000. Burleson is the first player to win a top prize in the game. Three top prizes of $200,000 remain.
