Good job and Congratulations today to the owner of the Beef Burger on Lee Street/Gate City Blvd., Ralph Havis…Ralph his hit the lottery three times, twice for $150,000 and now this week for One Million Dollars….Not bad for a scratch golfer and real, real-real good for a scratch card player like Ralph Havis….Happy for Ralph and you may see some real long lines in the scratch card line at the Quality Mart on Battleground Avenue over the next few days and you may want to go by and see Ralph at the Beef Burger and see if you can get him to rub some of that secret good luck sauce on you…..Way to Go Ralph Havis!!!!!
from the North Carolina Education Lottery’s web site/CLICK HERE:
Ralph Havis of Greensboro got a supersized serving of good luck when he won $1 million playing 100X The Cash. This is his third big lottery win in less than two years.
“When I scratched the ticket I thought, ‘Good God Almighty, I won again. No one’s going to believe it,’” Havis said.
Havis, the owner of Beef Burger in Greensboro, bought the ticket early Tuesday morning. He claimed his prize at lottery headquarters in Raleigh that afternoon. He had the choice of taking a $1 million annuity that has 20 payments of $50,000 a year or a lump sum of $600,000. He chose the lump sum and after federal and state tax withholdings received $415,506. He plans to share some of the prize with his employees and put the rest in the bank
Havis bought the $20 ticket at the Quality Mart on Battleground Avenue in Greensboro. Odds of winning the $1 million prize are one in 1.2 million.
This isn’t his first encounter with good luck. On April 26, he won $150,000 playing $500 Cash. And on Aug. 4, 2014, he won $150,000 playing Golden 7’s.
“It takes a lot of luck to win a big lottery prize,” said Alice Garland, the executive director of the North Carolina Education Lottery. “So to see someone win three big prizes like Mr. Havis is amazing. We’re glad he enjoys playing the lottery and congratulate him on his great luck.”
Word of his good luck is getting around and customers are hoping it will rub off. “People will come up to me and ask to shake my hands or hug me,” Havis said.
Playing the lottery is a way for Havis to remember his wife, Alma. The childhood sweethearts were married for 53 years before she passed away in January.
Getting scratch-off tickets was a tradition for the couple. It was something fun Alma could do since she had arthritis and couldn’t get around. They would go driving on Sunday afternoons to play the lottery.
“She sent down this good luck,” Havis said. “She’s still taking care of me.”
Even though he’s won big three times, he isn’t done yet. “I’m going to go for the big one,” Havis exclaimed.
100X The Cash launched in March 2015 with three $4 million prizes and five $1 million prizes. The lottery will end the game now that all the top prizes have been won.
Ticket sales from games like 100X The Cash made it possible for the lottery to raise more than half a billion dollars for the state last year. For details on how almost $207.8 million in lottery funds has made a difference in Guilford County, click on the “For Education” section of the lottery’s website.
www.nc-educationlottery.org