Chapel Hill man's lucky coin helps him win $2 million scratch-off prize

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- A Chapel Hill man won $2 million after using an old coin he found a few days before to scratch a $20 lottery ticket.

Bobby Gary said he was cleaning out his car a few days ago when he found an old coin under the seat.

"I told myself, 'I am going to scratch with this until l get lucky," he said.

Gary said he kept the coin because it had a special date on it.

"It was a Chuck E. Cheese coin from 2010, which just happens to be the year we got married," he said. "I said, 'I feel like it is going to bring me luck. And it did.'"

Gary bought his $20 Mega 7's ticket from Harris Teeter on Hillsborough Road in Durham.

"I called my wife and told her, 'I just scratched a $2 million ticket,'" he said.

After federal tax withholdings, Gary took home $851,174. He said he and his wife plan to use their winnings to pay bills, invest and potentially buy a house.

"If we do it right, this sets us up for the rest of our lives," he said.

Featured video is ABC11 24/7 Livestream