Man dreaming of retirement spends gas money on NC lottery ticket and wins $1 million

Roger Shue is 64 and has been dreaming about retiring from his job as a boiler operator.

However, it didn’t seem feasible until this week, when Shue walked into North Carolina Education Lottery headquarters in Raleigh and claimed a $1 million prize.

Lottery officials gave him two options.

“He could choose to receive the prize as an annuity of $50,000 over 20 years or a lump sum of $600,000,” lottery officials said in a news release.

He chose the lump sum.

Shue, who lives in Montgomery County, walked out with a check for $426,069, “after required state and federal tax withholdings,” officials said.

“It really didn’t hit me for a couple hours. Then I just started shaking,” Shue said in the release.

“It couldn’t have come at a better time. ... Now I can retire early.”

His winning $30 scratch-off ticket was in the $10,000,000 Colossal Cash game, which has a top prize of $10 million.

Shue’s ticket got him a second-tier prize, and he beat odds of 1 in 990,000.

He told lottery officials he owes the win to “a last-second decision” to spend his gas money on a second ticket while at a convenience store in his hometown of Star.

“I scratched the first one and nothing,” Shue said. “It was the second one I bought that hit the million.”

Shue gave lottery officials a list of things he intended to spend the money on, including “pay some bills, remodel his house, and share his winnings with his four sons.”

This story was originally published February 10, 2022 at 11:31 AM with the headline "Man dreaming of retirement spends gas money on NC lottery ticket and wins $1 million."