'Stars Are Aligning' For North Carolina Man Who Scored Big Lottery Jackpot

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The stars aligning for one lucky man in North Carolina who used the money he had left over from buying one lottery ticket to score an even bigger jackpot.

Gary Shelton II, of Mount Airy, recently stopped by the Mayberry Mart on East Pine Street to pick up a Powerball ticket, but while he was there he decided to also buy a Cash 5 ticket with extra dollar he had left over, according to a release from the NC Education Lottery.

"When the Powerball gets high I usually go buy one ticket and I just thought, 'Well, I have a dollar left over so let me get one Cash 5 ticket too,'" he said.

The last-minute decision to get the Quick Pick ticket for the January 28 drawing ended up landing him the $132,313 jackpot, overcoming the 1 in 962,598 odds to score the prize.

"It still doesn't seem real," he said. "It seems like the stars are aligning for us this year."

Shelton claimed his prize at lottery headquarters on Monday (February 6), taking home $94,273 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 buy a Martin guitar after being a longtime fan of bluegrass music. He also wants to treat his wife and daughter with gifts and put the rest in savings.

"I can't even put into words what this means," he said. "It's just a blessing."


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