Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
Christmas came a day early for an Asheville-area man who scratched off a $10 N.C. Lottery ticket and found that he’d won $1 million – on Christmas Eve.
“He brought it up to the counter and handed it to Kaye and she started screaming,” said Nancy Brank, manager of the CitiStop convenience store on Weaverville Road near Stoney Knob Cafe. Bank was describing the scene about noon on Tuesday and her colleague, assistant store manager Kaye Carter’s, reaction.
The winning ticket was a $10 Holiday Gold scratch-off, Brank said.
Brank described the winner as “a regular” who comes in to buy lottery tickets and socialize. The store has an unofficial social group, affectionately referred to as the “Scratcher’s Club.” Brank said the winner appeared to be in a bit of shock and didn’t say much.
“He said I’ll believe it when I have the money in my hand,” Brank said. She said she and Carter urged the winner to sign the back of the ticket before he left the store.
One of the Scratcher’s Club members, who gave his name has Bob (“My church would run me out if they knew I was here.”) jokingly said Thursday morning that there was an even bigger story about the lottery winner.
“It’s that we’ve lost $2 million,” said Bob of he and his fellow club members. “We helped him get there.”
Bob said that although he’s a regular lottery player, he knows the lottery “is a losing proposition. It’s a poor man’s tax, but they’ll never get rid of it.”
Brank said that over the years, her store has sold several winning $1,000 lottery tickets, a couple of $24,000 winners and a Carolina Cash 5 ticket worth $91,000 last year.
I don’t understand ‘the bigger story’. How did they lose $2 million?