A textile worker from Grover won nearly half a million dollars in a state lottery scratch-off game.
Larry Holmes took home $489,936 after state and federal taxes from his win in the N.C. Education Lottery’s “$1,000 a Week for Life!” game.
Holmes bought a $2 ticket at Lowery’s Country Corner on South Post Road in Shelby.
“I scratched it off at home and just started hollering and jumping for joy,” Holmes told lottery officials this week. “I never thought I’d win something like this. I feel fantastic. I’m going to grin all the way to the bank.”
The odds of winning the top prize in the game were one in 4.8 million.
The game’s top winning ticket guarantees an annual prize of $52,000 or a lump sum cash prize of $708,000.
Holmes said he plans to use his winnings to buy a truck, save for retirement and help his children.
The N.C. Education Lottery reports it has raised $34.7 million for Cleveland County education projects since the lottery began in March 2006.
That money has contributed $11 million to school construction projects, $10.9 million toward 212 teacher salaries in kindergarten through third grade, $8.5 million toward pre-kindergarten programs, $2.8 million in college scholarships and $841,000 in financial aid grants, according to the N.C. Education Lottery’s website.