Melvin Rose of Waynesboro, Tenn. says his luck is right here in North Carolina after a $100,000 scratch-off win.

Rose’s good luck happened while in Hickory for a three-week long painting and restoration job. He stopped at the Raceway off U.S. 321 to buy three $5 scratch-off tickets. The cashier accidentally handed him three 100X the Cash tickets that cost $20 each. He proceeded with buying them because his instinct told him that they were meant for him.

His first ticket didn’t win a prize and his second garnered him $20. He found his big prize on the third.

“You know,” said Rose. “There’s a reason she gave those to me. My luck’s here in North Carolina!”

Rose’s face beamed as he claimed his prize at lottery headquarters in Raleigh on Thursday. After required state and federal tax withholdings, he took home a check for $70,756.

“It’s my first time in North Carolina too,” he said of the day’s events. When asked what he planned to do with the money, he said, “I’m taking my friends out to lunch, paying off some bills, and I’ve always wanted to take a cruise down to the Caribbean.”

Ticket sales from scratch-off games make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $700 million a year for education. For details on how lottery funds have helped all of North Carolina’s 100 counties, click on the “Impact” section of the lottery’s website. https://www.nclottery.com