GREENSBORO, N.C. — Bryan Lofton moved to Greensboro several months ago with his wife and kids from Maryland.
“I already liked it here but I’m definitely loving North Carolina now,” he said. “This is just icing on the cake.”
The icing was a $200,000 lottery win for Lofton. The 39-year-old bought a $5 lucky Lincoln scratch-off ticket from the Sheetz on U.S. 29 North in Greensboro.
“My heart was racing,” Lofton recalled. “I read it like 50 times to make sure.”
He said he immediately called his wife to tell her the good news.
“She didn’t believe me at first because I’m a prankster,” he said. “I’m always playing jokes on her.”
Lofton said the money could help them buy a new house.
“This comes at the perfect time for us,” Lofton said. “We are currently in the middle of searching for a home to buy.”
He claimed his prize at lottery headquarters on Friday. After state and federal taxes, he took home just over $142,000.
He said in addition to buying a home, he'd use the money to pay some bills.
The Lincoln game debuted in September. Three $200,000 prizes are still out there.
More Lottery Excitement
North Carolinians have a chance to win $1 billion in the second-largest Powerball jackpot ever. That's an estimated cash value of nearly $500,000,000.
The next drawing is on Monday, October 31.