Cleveland County man nearly threw away $277,000 winning lottery ticket

CLEVELAND COUNTY, N.C. (WBTV) - A Cleveland County man nearly tossed away his winning lottery ticket worth $277,000.

John Cornwell, from Waco, bought a $1 Cash 5 ticket that almost ended up in the trash.

“I checked the ticket and there was a message about going to the lottery office,” Cornwell said. “I almost threw it away. I thought it was just a bad ticket.”

Fortunately for Cornwell, he thought twice about it and asked the store clerk at the Waco Stop & Shop on Cherryville Road in Waco to scan his Quick Pick ticket again for him.

“He said, ‘I think you won the big one,’” Cornwell said. “I waited until I got home and screamed out loud to my wife that I won.”

He said when he told his wife what happened, she could not believe it was real.

“She thought I made it up,” Cornwell said. “I told her, ‘Baby, it’s legit.’ She still can’t believe it.”

Cornwell, a 70-year-old machine designer, bought his winning ticket for the Dec. 30 Cash 5 drawing. He arrived at lottery headquarters on Thursday to collect his prize and, after federal and state tax withholdings, took home $196,759.

Cornwell said he wanted to use the money to pay off a new car that he bought for his wife and take her on a vacation.