‘I thought it wasn’t real’: NC man celebrates early birthday with big lottery win
A North Carolina man celebrated his birthday early this year after he won a top lottery prize.
Chad Wharton, from Burlington, won $150,000 in a second-chance drawing for the Holiday Winnings game, according to lottery officials.
Wharton, who works for UPS, won big on Feb. 9, just a week before his 47th birthday, a news release on Feb. 25 says.
“It was a great early birthday present,” Wharton said, according to the release. “I never thought it would happen to me, but it happened.”
He said he knew he won a prize after he received a notification email. But he didn’t know how much, lottery officials say.
“I was so nervous I just crossed my fingers,” Wharton said in the release. “When I opened it, I thought it wasn’t real.”
He told lottery officials he plans to pay off bills and invest the rest of his birthday winnings. After taxes, he took home $106,515.
This story was originally published February 25, 2022 at 5:37 PM with the headline "‘I thought it wasn’t real’: NC man celebrates early birthday with big lottery win."
