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A man in North Carolina joked that he nearly had a heart attack when he won big in a recent lottery drawing.
Matthew Shipley, of Newton, recently purchased a $2 Lucky for Life lottery ticket using Online Play ahead of Thursday's (September 28) drawing, according to a release from the NC Education Lottery. He later discovered that he was in fact "lucky for life" when he matched all five white balls called in the drawing to win the $25,000 a year for life prize.
"I just about had a heart attack," he joked, adding that he immediately had to share the good news with his wife. "Then I woke my wife up to tell her we won."
Shipley claimed his prize at lottery headquarters where had the choice to accept his prize as the $25,000 per year for the rest of his life or as a one time, lump sum payment of $390,000. He ended up choosing the latter and took home a grand total of $277,896 after all required state and federal tax withholdings.
So what does he plan to do with his winnings? Shipley said he and his wife love camping and recently purchased a camper van that they can now pay off thanks to the win.
"We have been camping all over," he said. "We bought a camper and now we can pay it off."
Additionally, Shipley said the prize will help him pay off his mortgage and save for retirement.