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Man thought $1M lottery ticket was a loser, threw it on floor

By Ben Hooper
A North Carolina man said his $1 million winning lottery ticket spent days on the floorboards of his car when he mistook it for a losing ticket. Image courtesy of the North Carolina Education Lottery
A North Carolina man said his $1 million winning lottery ticket spent days on the floorboards of his car when he mistook it for a losing ticket. Image courtesy of the North Carolina Education Lottery

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July 20 (UPI) -- A North Carolina man said a $1 million winning lottery ticket was initially confused for a loser and spent days on the floor of his car.

James Strickland of Greensboro told North Carolina Education Lottery officials he bought a $30 Extreme Millions scratch-off ticket from the Express Mart in Thomasville and tossed it on the floor of his car when he determined it wasn't a winner.

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"I always throw the losing tickets I scratch into my car floorboard," Strickland said. "Then at the end of the week I check the stack again. I found this ticket in my loser stack, and I couldn't believe it. I was all ecstatic and shaky. A million changes a lot."

Strickland and his wife, Teresa McCallister, visited lottery headquarters Thursday and collected a $423,014 lump sum after required tax withholdings.

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