For Harold Gannon of Henderson, it was third time’s the charm that delivered him a 100X The Cash $100,000 win.

“It’s a funny story,” he said. Gannon, who has worked at a glass plant for 41 years, stopped at the Maza Food Mart on East Andrews Avenue in Henderson after work on Friday.

He first tried his luck on one $20 100X The Cash ticket. “I looked at the bottom number and it had a number 3 and I really didn’t like number 3. So, I bought the ticket next to it.”

On the second ticket, Gannon won $20 and used his winnings to buy his third 100X The Cash ticket. As it turns out, third time was the charm.

“That was the winning ticket,” he said. “If didn’t win on that other ticket, I would have never bought it. It was luck.”

He realized his good fortune as he was sitting on his motorcycle outside of the store. “I saw the 100, and then three more zeroes came behind it,” he recalled. “I got real excited. I put it in my pocket and I had to go home and tell my wife. I drove down the road with my hand in my pocket so it wouldn’t blow out.”

Gannon claimed his prize Monday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required federal and state tax withholdings, he took home $70,756.

“I couldn’t believe it,” said Gannon. “Even though it’s right there in front of my face, it’s hard to believe winning that much.”

With his prize money, Gannon says he plans to pay off his house and buy his wife a new car. “I plan on retiring in two years, so without the bills, I can prepare,” he said.

Ticket sales from scratch-off games make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $725 million a year for education. For details on how $2.4 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Vance County in 2019, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.