Lottery player’s wife thought his NC win was a joke. Then she heard him crying
A wife thought her husband was kidding about his North Carolina lottery win — until she heard him getting emotional.
“He likes to joke around a lot so when he first told me I said, ‘Stop playing,’” Evelyn Seawell told the N.C. Education Lottery. “But then I heard him crying and I knew he wasn’t joking.”
Her husband, Darrell Seawell, burst into tears after he tried his luck on the $5,000,000 Ultimate scratch-off game. He spent $30 on a ticket at Mack’s Mart in Knightdale, a suburb east of Raleigh, officials wrote in a Nov. 8 news release.
Darrell Seawell didn’t know how much his ticket was worth when he took a recent trip to the lottery’s headquarters in Raleigh. He found out he won $100,000 and couldn’t contain himself.
“I’m 69 years old and If you’ve never seen an old man cry, I cried,” the winner said in the release. “It’s a blessing.”
Darrell Seawell then rushed to call his wife, and the tearful moment convinced her his jackpot win was the real deal. The Wake County resident kept $71,259 after taxes and plans to put his prize money in the bank, according to lottery officials.
It’s not the first time someone thought a North Carolina lottery prize was a joke. Recently, one winner’s mother wasn’t convinced her daughter had a lucky ticket, so she sent her a photo, McClatchy News reported.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREWhen gambling is more than a game
Gambling is designed to be a source of entertainment.
If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website.
This story was originally published November 8, 2023 at 11:02 AM with the headline "Lottery player’s wife thought his NC win was a joke. Then she heard him crying."
