Gastonia man left speechless after $200,000 scratch-off win

LOWELL, N.C. (WBTV) - A $5 scratch-off ticket left one Gastonia man speechless when he uncovered a $200,000 prize.

“My mouth couldn’t speak right,” said Randy Stroud. “I could barely talk to the girl in the store.”

Stroud stopped by the Lowell Mini Mart to grab a soda when he decided to pick up a Gold Standard scratch-off ticket

“I looked at it and it just said, ‘Pick me,’” he said. “So, I did.”

[Gaston County man wins $2 million on scratch-off]

Stroud, a grandfather of three boys, recalled the moment he told his eldest grandson about his win.

“He had a big, huge grin, he reached over and bearhugged me,” Stroud said. “He said, ‘We are blessed Papa.’ I said, ‘Yep, you are right.’”

Stroud collected his prize Monday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh and, after required federal and state withholdings, took home $142,501.

“You always see the big numbers and you always go, ‘Man wouldn’t that be nice,’” he said. “You think that is never going to happen but it happened. It just absolutely happened.”

He said he wants to use the winnings to help do some home repairs as well as continue his efforts in restoring a 1972 Chevrolet Monte Carlo.

For more information, visit nclottery.com.

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