Christmas came early for Michael Rosenbrock of Mint Hill after he won $250,000 while getting groceries for his holiday dinner.

“I’m hosting the family this year,” Rosenbrock said. “I wanted to make sure I picked everything up early. I’m making ham, meatballs, stuffing, the whole shebang.”

Rosenbrock said he needed some last-minute fixings, so he stopped at the Food Lion on Blair Road in Mint Hill
While there, he bought a 20X The Cash scratch-off ticket. He scratched the ticket at his living room table.

“I didn’t think I won anything at first,” said Rosenbrock, who works in international shipping. “It’s a good thing I always enter my tickets into the second-chance drawings or I would have thrown it away. I couldn’t believe it when I realized I won $250,000.”

Rosenbrock claimed his prize Monday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required state and federal tax withholdings, he took home $176,876. Rosenbrock said he’s always wanted to start a nonprofit, and this will help him fulfill that dream.

“There are so many things that we take for granted,” Rosenbrock said. “Clean water, food to eat, a roof over our head. Doing nonprofit work is something I’ve always wanted to do.”

The $5 ticket launched in August with three $250,000 prizes. One top prize remains.

Ticket sales from games like 20X The Cash make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $700 million a year for education. For details on how lottery funds have made a difference in all of North Carolina’s 100 counties, click on the “Impact” section of the lottery’s website.