North Carolina Man 'Can't Believe' His Luck After $500,000 Lottery Win

A lucky lottery player in North Carolina "can't believe" his luck after scoring a $500,000 prize from a scratch-off ticket.

James Brown , of Lenoir, knew he would win a huge lottery prize at some point , but it ended up coming sooner than he thought. According to a release from the NC Education Lottery , the Caldwell County man even told a store clerk that it was just a matter of time before it happened.

"I told her, 'One of these days I'm going to win that big prize," he said. "Two weeks later I did."

Brown picked up a $10 Double Diamond Cashword scratch-off ticket from the Shop and Save on Morganton Boulevard Southwest, and it proved to be just the winning ticket he needed to land the final $500,000 prize in the game.

"I just thought, 'I can't believe I won that much money ," he said.

When it came to sharing the exciting news with his wife, calling her immediately after learning of his win, Brown said didn't believe him, telling lottery officials, "I told her I won and she said, 'No you didn't.'"

Brown claimed his prize at lottery headquarters on Friday (March 15), taking home an impressive total of $357,503 after all required state and federal tax withholdings. According to lottery officials, Brown plans to use his winnings to renovate his house.

"It came at the right time," he said.