Ronnie Foster was already on top of the world as he headed to his final round of chemotherapy – then he won the lottery.
Foster, from Pink Hill, North Carolina, is battling colon cancer. As he made his way to the hospital for his last chemotherapy treatment, he was already having a great day.
According to the North Carolina Lottery Commission, he was en route when he discovered he’d won $200,000.
PAThe retired Department of Transportation worker said he bought the ‘Win It All’ scratch-off ticket at the Short Stop on Jackson Street in Beulaville, while travelling to the hospital.
As reported by ABC News, Foster said in a statement:
I bought a $1 ticket and won $5. I decided to trade it in for a $5 ticket. At the last second, I decided to buy two tickets instead of one. I was already happy because it was my last round of chemo. Winning this made it my lucky day.
After scratching the second ticket, Foster froze – he couldn’t believe the amount of money he’d won.
PixabayFoster added:
I saw all those zeroes and I froze. I didn’t believe it until I gave it to the clerk at the counter to scan. When it showed ‘Go to lottery headquarters’ I started shaking. I couldn’t believe it.
On Friday (October 25), Foster claimed his prize at the lottery headquarters in Raleigh. He didn’t get the entire $200k, though – due to the US’s ruthless state and federal tax withholdings, he ended up taking home $141,501.
How does he plan to spend the money? Foster doesn’t appear to be interesting in splashing the cash – he’s got more sensible things to pay for, like medical bills and saving for the future.
PAFoster explained:
I have good insurance, but there is still some cost. This will make it a whole lot easier.
This comes after an Oregon man managed two spectacular feats: he beat cancer not once, but twice, and won the state lottery – valued at a whopping $4.6 million.
PixabayAs reported by Thrillist, Stu MacDonald of Bend, Oregon, beat the odds (again) on September 7. ‘I am a very lucky guy, I survived cancer twice and here I am. This is amazing,’ he said.
MacDonald opted for the lump sum, therefore he took home $1.56 million after taxes – not too shabby whatsoever.
According to the lottery’s website, the North Carolina Education Lottery raised more than $700 million last year for education.
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After graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University with an NCTJ and BCTJ-accredited Multimedia Journalism degree, Cameron ventured into the world of print journalism at The National, while also working as a freelance film journalist on the side, becoming an accredited Rotten Tomatoes critic in the process. He’s now left his Scottish homelands and took up residence at UNILAD as a journalist.