Ernest Dodson, of Greensboro, N.C., purchased the winning Cash 5 ticket last Thursday at Sons of Nie, a local Asian market. On Friday, lottery officials announced he had won the large sum.
“I about fell over,” Dodson, who picked his own numbers, told North Carolina Lottery. “I saw that I got one, two, and then all of the numbers. I couldn’t believe it.”
Dodson traveled to lottery headquarters in Raleigh to receive his winnings.
The 70-year-old U.S. Army vet plans on paying off all of his debts and purchasing a new big-screen television after winning $276,688 off a $1 lottery ticket just before Veteran's Day.
Dodson will have more than enough to purchase the TV of his dreams; after required state and federal tax withholdings, the veteran took home $195,757.