Man Wins $200K From Lottery Ticket on Way to Final Chemo Treatment

Justin Morgan
By Justin Morgan
October 28, 2019US News
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Man Wins $200K From Lottery Ticket on Way to Final Chemo Treatment
A Powerball ticket on the counter in San Lorenzo, Calif., on Jan. 13, 2016. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

A North Carolina man, while on the way to his final chemotherapy treatment won $200,000 from a lottery ticket, said the NC Education Lottery in a press release on Sunday.

Ronnie Foster of Pink Hill, said at first he purchased a $1 ticket that yielded him a measly $5. At the last minute, he decided to use the $5 to purchase two more tickets.

Foster said he won nothing on the first of the two subsequent tickets he purchased. However, when he scratched the second ticket, he realized he was a winner.

“I saw all those zeroes and I froze,” Foster told the lottery. “I didn’t believe it until I gave it to the clerk at the counter to scan. When it showed, ‘Go to lottery headquarters,’ I started shaking. I couldn’t believe it.”

Lottery Winner
(Minerva Studio/Shutterstock)

Foster, who previously worked for the Department of Transportation, has been battling colon cancer and was nearing the end of his treatment, the winning lottery ticket was the icing on the cake.

“I was already happy because it was my last round of chemo,” he said. “Winning this made it my lucky day.”

Foster says that part of the winnings will go towards paying off his medical expenses that weren’t covered under his insurance, the rest he says, will be saved “for the future.”

“I have good insurance,” Foster said. “But there is still some cost. This will make it a whole lot easier.” After taxes, Foster was expected to net $141,501, which he collected on Friday.

According to lottery officials, ticket sales raise over $700 million a year which go toward supporting education programs across the state.

Former $500,000 Lottery Winners Charged in 5-county Burglary Spree

In August, another lottery winning story—this time with a not-so-happy ending—a Bay county Michigan couple, who won a $500,000 lottery jackpot three years earlier, were arrested as suspects in several home invasions across five counties.

These break-ins had been happening over several weeks. Police set up a task force, which led to the arrests of 28-year- old Stephanie Harvell and 29-year-old Mitchell Arnswald.

Stephanie Harvell and Mitchell Arnswald
Stephanie Harvell (L) and Mitchell Arnswald. (Bay County Sheriff’s office via AP)

“I know they been into five different counties as well, but in Bay County we have had about 13 home invasions done by these individuals we believe,” said Bay County Sheriff Troy Cunningham.

Investigators believe Harvell and Arnswald had been breaking into homes in Bay, Tuscola, Midland, Saginaw and Arenac counties. Cunningham said the couple had an off-the-wall answer if a homeowner stopped them.

The couple won $500,000 in 2016 playing the Michigan Lottery’s Hot Ticket game. Police are not sure what they did with their prize winnings. They were arrested Aug. 29 after another suspected home invasion in Bay County’s Merritt Township.

The CNN Wire and Epoch Times Reporter Jack Phillips contributed to this report.

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