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In a move that some may call divine intervention or simply just rethinking a decision, a North Carolina man's last-minute choice to buy a lottery ticket ended up winning him a $100,000 prize.
Agustin Perez Jr., of Hendersonville, recently stopped by the Dana Food Center on Dana Road and was about to leave when he suddenly decided to pick up a Millionaire Maker lottery ticket, according to a release from the NC Education Lottery.
"I was about to walk out the door without buying the ticket," he said.
At first, the 43-year-old farmer thought he only won a few dollars, but it didn't take long for him to see just how much he actually won.
"Then, I just kept seeing more and more zeroes," he said.
He recalled the reaction that everyone in the store had when they all realized he won one of the big prizes.
"We all just screamed and yelled," he said, adding that everyone was celebrating with him.
Perez claimed his prize at lottery headquarters on Friday (January 20), taking home a grand total of $71,259 after all required state and federal tax withholdings. When asked what he plans to do with his new winnings, he told lottery officials he hopes to use some of the money to bring his family, who are in Mexico, to the United States.