James Brown of Lenoir recently told a store clerk he felt a big win coming and weeks later a $10 scratch-off produced a $500,000 prize.
“I told her, ‘One of these days I’m going to win that big prize,’” Brown recalled. “Two weeks later I did.”
Brown bought his lucky $10 Double Diamond Cashword ticket from the Shop And Save on Morganton Boulevard Southwest in Lenoir.
“I just thought, ‘I can’t believe I won that much money,’” Brown said.
He called his wife right away to tell her the good news.
“I told her I won and she said, ‘No you didn’t,’” Brown laughed.
He arrived at lottery headquarters Friday to collect his prize and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $357,503.
“It came at the right time,” he said.
Brown plans to use the winnings to renovate his house.
The Double Diamond Cashword game debuted in April with four $500,000 top prizes. Since Brown won the last $500,000 top prize, the lottery will begin the process of ending the game.
A $15 million grant, using money raised by the lottery, helped Caldwell County build the new Granite Falls Middle School. For details on other ways Caldwell County benefits from lottery funds, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.
