Man wins $1 million after paying co-worker forward with a cheeseburger lunch

Shore News Network

The desire for a good cheeseburger took Kevin Poole of Franklinville to a local grill where lunch got topped off with a $1 million lottery win.

“The electrician I work with bought me lunch yesterday,” said Poole as he claimed his prize Wednesday. “I told him, ‘since you bought mine yesterday, I’ll buy yours today.’”

Poole bought his lucky $10,000,000 Colossal Cash ticket at Don Lee’s Grocery And Grill on N.C. 50 in Willow Spring.


“They got really good cheeseburgers,” he said. “After I finished eating my cheeseburger and onion rings, I scratched it.”

He scanned the $30 ticket using his NC Lottery Official Mobile app, and it notified him to head to lottery headquarters in Raleigh.

Poole had the option of taking the $1 million as an annuity of $50,000 a year over 20 years, or a lump sum of $600,000. He chose the lump sum of $600,000 and took home $424,509 after required federal and state tax withholdings.

“I’m over excited now!” exclaimed Poole, a supervisor at an asphalt plant. “I’m building a house, and I’d like to buy more land. I want to build a motocross track out back for my sons to ride on.”

Ticket sales from scratch-offs make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $900 million per year for education. For details on how $8.2 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Randolph County in 2020, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.

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