’Someone gave me $10 for pumpkin...,’ North Carolina man wins ₹1 crore lottery prize, credits luck to pumpkin sales

A man from North Carolina won a $150,000 prize from a scratch-off lottery ticket, attributing his good fortune to a pumpkin.

As reported by UPI news, Story said, “I grow a few pumpkins each year and sell them,” adding, “Someone gave me $10 for a pumpkin, and I used that to buy the ticket.”

He chose a $5 Xtreme Cashword ticket at the Sun Farms store on U.S. 17 South in Elizabeth City.

Also Read: Man wins lottery worth over ₹8 crore after buying same numbers for 20 years

Moreover, Story mentioned that he initially didn't grasp the extent of his winnings. "I didn’t have my glasses on," he said. “I thought I had won $1,000.”

Earlier, 62-year-old Jose Duran from West Palm Beach, Florida, claimed an impressive $3 million (approximately ₹25 crore) Mega Millions jackpot after spending just $3 (around ₹250) on his ticket.

Also Read: Meet 11 civic workers who pooled in ₹250 and won ₹10 crore in lottery. This is what they plan to do

Duran matched all five white balls in the draw held on April 11, 2023, and bought his winning ticket from Supermercados El Bodegon on Forest Hill Boulevard.

The retailer also benefits, receiving a $5,000 (around ₹4 lakh) bonus for selling the winning ticket.

In a similar story, a woman from Frederick County, Maryland, had her life changed after winning $500,000 (approximately ₹4 crore) from a Powerball Double Play ticket on September 25. The unnamed woman was reportedly in disbelief, hyperventilating, and completely "in shock," according to the Mirror.

Earlier in September, in Massachusetts, a man named Thomas Ensko used the same set of his lucky numbers, inspired by his birthday, for two decades. Unsure of a win this time too, Ensko bought a Mega Millions lottery ticket from Anderson’s Variety Store in Blackstone. Thomas Ensko collected his prize money of a whopping $1,000,000 (before taxes) at the Massachusetts State Lottery headquarters in Dorchester. Notably, Anderson’s also had a reason to celebrate Ensko's win; the store received a $10,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket.