Retired firefighter giving friend a ride stops for NC lottery ticket — wins millions

A retired North Carolina firefighter’s good deed on a rainy day paid off big, when he won $4 million with a lottery ticket purchased along the way, according to the NC Education Lottery.

Kenneth Crews of Shelby took the lump sum rather than 20 annual installments, netting nearly $1.7 million after taxes, lottery officials said in a release.

Odds of winning one of the $4 million top prizes in the Ruby Red 7s game are 1 in 1.35 million, according to the lottery.

The winning ticket was purchased as Crews was helping a friend who needed a ride to work on a rainy day, officials said in the release.

It’s something Crews says he has done countless times before, but for some reason his friend insisted that day on paying him $60 for his trouble, the release said.

“He said: ‘Please, put it on a scratch-off, you might hit something today,’ ” Crews recalled in the release.

The retiree took the advice, stopping at the Southern Store in Shelby to buy three Ruby Red 7s tickets at $20 each, the release said.

Two were winners, and Crews made the discoveries in ascending order: The first was worthless, the second paid $30 and the third was a whopping $4 million, officials said.

Crews didn’t say how he reacted at the sight, but joked the money was part of a “three-year retirement payout,” in the news release. He retired three years ago after working for 32 years as a Shelby firefighter, the release said. Shelby is about 45 miles west of Charlotte.

His winnings will be divided between building a “retirement home and help family members pay bills,” the release said.

The lottery introduced Ruby Red 7s in January, with a promise of “four top prizes of $4 million.” So far, Crews and one other person have won $4 million in the game, officials said in the release.

This story was originally published March 18, 2020 at 11:37 AM with the headline "Retired firefighter giving friend a ride stops for NC lottery ticket — wins millions."