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A man in North Carolina is hoping for an earlier retirement after scoring a massive $250,000 prize in a recent lottery win.
Paul Cobler Jr., of Dallas, recently stopped by the Walmart on Northwest Boulevard in Newton where he picked up a $5 Mega Bucks Limited Edition scratch-off ticket. It wasn't until he got home started watching TV that he scratched it and revealed his big prize, according to a release from the NC Education Lottery. The prize was so astonishing that it even kept him up rather than sleeping soundly.
"I was just trying to figure out if I was dreaming or something. I could barely sleep after it happened," said the 51-year-old machinist, adding, "I was in disbelief. I just kept thinking, 'This can't be real.'"
Cobler claimed his prize at lottery headquarters on Monday (January 23), bringing home a total of $178,126 after all required state and federal tax withholdings. When asked what he plans to do with his new winnings, he told lottery officials he wants to pay off his house and car as well as save some for his retirement, which he added he hopes comes sooner than previously planned.
"Hopefully from here on out it will be an earlier retirement that I was expecting," he said.