'We can finally get married:' North Carolina couple's dream comes true with $100,000 lottery win

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Thursday, August 8, 2019
Halifax County couple plans dream wedding after lottery win
Halifax County couple plans dream wedding after lottery win.

ROANOKE RAPIDS, N.C. (WTVD) -- A lottery win for a couple in Roanoke Rapids is going to make their dreams come true. Specifically, their dream of marriage.

Jeremy McLean and Heidi Hobbs have been engaged for four years.

"We just haven't had the extra money to get married until now," McLean said.

Now, thanks to the $5,000,000 Fortune scratch-off ticket, they have an extra $100,000.

"The first thought that ran though my head when he told me was,'We can finally get married," Hobbs said. "I don't want anything fancy, just something simple to celebrate that we're together."

McLean is an electrician. His lucky day was Tuesday when he stopped at the New Dixie Mart on East 10th Street in Roanoke Rapids. He bought a Mountain Dew and spent $20 on a $5,000,000 Fortune scratch-off.

"I didn't win anything on the ticket," McLean said. "I got back in my truck and started pulling out of the parking lot when something just said I should get another ticket."

That was a great decision.

The second scratch-off ticket was the first $100,000 winning $5,000,000 Fortune ticket. Five $100,000 winners and three $5 million winners remain.

"He came in yelling, 'I did it!'" Hobbs said. "When he showed me the ticket, I started jumping on the bed I was so excited. This feels like a dream!"

McLean claimed his prize Wednesday morning in Raleigh. After state and federal taxes, he took home $70,756.

"You've changed our lives forever," McLean said when he got the check. "This is incredible."