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RALEIGH – Nawaz Haque of Albemarle said a strong feeling told him to buy a lottery ticket, so he listened and that $30 scratch-off ticket won him a $100,000 prize.

“For some reason the ticket was just calling to me,” Haque said.

Haque said he rarely buys scratch-offs, but after he spoke to the clerk he knew he had to buy the ticket.

“I asked him what number it was and he said three,” Haque said. “Three is my lucky number so I bought it.”

Haque said he only visited the convenience store, Andy’s Mart on West Church Street in Richfield, because he used to hang out there as a high school student and wanted to see if he still knew anybody working there. After buying a Millionaire Maker ticket, he started to scratch it right there in the store.

“I started jumping when I saw I won,” Haque said. “It was just pure adrenaline at that point.”

Haque arrived at lottery headquarters Friday to collect his prize and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $71,019. He said he wants to invest a portion of his winnings.

Ticket sales from scratch-off games make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $900 million per year for education. For details on how $3.8 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Stanly County in 2021, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.