Pumpkin leads North Carolina man to $150,000 lottery prize

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. (WGHP) — A Halloween tradition of selling pumpkins led to Roy Story, of Hertford, winning a $150,000 prize, according to an NC Education Lottery news release.

“I raise a few pumpkins every year and sell them,” Story said. “Someone gave me $10 for a pumpkin, and I used that to buy the ticket.”

Story bought his winning $5 Xtreme Cashword ticket Monday morning from Sun Farms on U.S. 17 South in Elizabeth City.

“I love to play the crosswords,” Story said. “I play them all.”

Story said at first, he didn’t realize how much he won.

“I didn’t have my glasses on,” he said. “I thought it won $1,000.”

He collected his prize at lottery headquarters on Monday.

After required state and federal tax withholdings, he took home $107,251.

Story plans to use his winnings to buy a truck.

Where can I get the latest lottery numbers?

Watch lottery drawings on FOX8! Mega Millions airs at 11 p.m. on Tuesday and Friday. Powerball airs at 10:59 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. The NC Lottery airs at 11:22 p.m. every night.

You can also find the lottery results online on the FOX8 website .

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX8 WGHP.