North Carolina Man Scores 'Overwhelming' $200,000 Lottery Prize

A lucky lottery player in North Carolina is feeling overwhelmed after landing a massive win from a scratch-off ticket.

Ashley Abee , of Morganton, picked up an Emerald 8s ticket for $5 earlier this week from the Walmart on North Green Street, but when it came time to scratch off his ticket, he was shocked to see that he won one of the game's top prizes, according to a release from the NC Education Lottery . In fact, he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"I saw one zero then another zero then another," he said. "I just kept looking at it over and over again."

Fortunately for Abee, the zeros eventually led to an impressive $200,000 prize, which he said "really was overwhelming."

Abee claimed his prize at lottery headquarters on Thursday (October 11), taking home a grand total of $143,001 after all required state and federal tax withholdings. According to lottery officials, the Burke County man already has plans on what to do with his new winnings — putting them in savings.

According to the lottery website, the Emerald 8s game launched in December with eight top prizes of $200,000. Following Abee's win, three of the prizes remain to be claimed.