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A man in North Carolina is celebrating a huge lottery win after his first-ever scratch-off ticket landed him a six-figure prize.
Amir Dickerson, of Richlands, recently took a page out of other lottery hopefuls' books and bought his first scratch-off ticket, picking up a $5 Mega Bucks ticket from the Shell on Western Boulevard in Jacksonville, according to a release from the NC Education Lottery.
"I've seen lots of other people win so I wanted to try," he said. "I just got lucky."
The beginner's luck was very real for the Onslow County man, who landed one of the game's top $200,000 prizes. However, he wasn't the first person to realize he won.
"I actually didn't know that I won at first," he said. "I gave the ticket to my grandma to look at and she told me I won."
After that, the magnitude of the situation really set in and he was left reeling, admitting, "It was just like shock. I was so happy."
Dickerson claimed his prize on Tuesday (July 8), taking home a total of $143,501 after all required state and federal tax withholdings. According to lottery officials, he plans to use his new winnings to help his family.
"I'm just thankful," he said.
According to the lottery website, the Mega Bucks game still has five top prizes of $200,000 that remain to be claimed following Dickerson's win.