Retired officer returning from trip discovers big NC lottery win. ‘All the emotions’

A North Carolina retiree returned from a trip and discovered a six-figure surprise.

Alan Cheek said he was back from visiting California when he received an unexpected phone call. The N.C. Education Lottery was reaching out to tell him that he won $286,845.

“I had to let it sink in over the weekend,” Cheek told lottery officials in a Sept. 27 news release.

Cheek basked in his big win after he entered his lucky Carolina Jackpot ticket into a second-chance drawing. His entry was one of more than 13 million, according to officials.

The N.C. Education Lottery said Cheek once worked as a law enforcement officer and lives in Burlington, roughly 20 miles east of Greensboro. He kept $203,689 after taxes and plans to put the prize money toward remodeling his home.

“I went through all the emotions,” Cheek told the N.C. Education Lottery. “I’ve been working on some projects, so this makes decisions easier.”

The lottery, which said it notifies winners via email before calling them, has caught people off guard in the past.

In 2020, a man said he thought a call he received about his $1 million win was a prank before realizing “it was the real deal.”

And in 2022, a woman was skeptical when she received a phone call telling her how much her ticket was worth, McClatchy News reported.

Lottery winner took lucky NC ticket everywhere — ‘even to the bathroom and to sleep’

Lottery player plans to help family with six-figure NC prize. ‘I’m trying not to cry’