'The rolling eye is over:' Linden man celebrates lotto win after begrudgingly playing for wife

LINDEN, NC (WTVD) -- The story of a Linden couple's lottery win is giving credibility to the advice "listen to your wife."

As Darrin Nunnery headed to the store Monday night, he heard his wife call out, - like she always does - "Get me a Lucky For Life ticket."

In typical fashion, Nunnery said he rolled his eyes and headed out the door.

He came back home with a $2 ticket for that night's drawing and gave it to his wife.

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The next morning Nunnery got a phone call.

"Do you feel lucky?" Nunnery said his wife asked.

"What do you mean, do I feel lucky?" he replied. "Well," she said, "We just got five numbers in Lucky For Life. That's $25,000 a year."

As Nunnery claimed his prize Tuesday with his wife, a daughter, and a grandson by his side, he looked over at his wife and said, "I told her, the rolling my eyes is over."

But the good fortune meant more to the couple than just the end of a mortgage payment - over the last four years, Nunnery had been recovering from a brain aneurysm.

The former maintenance contractor at Fort Bragg remains disabled, but he said doctors tell him he's lucky to be around.

"I get to see my grandchildren, my wife, more, and my kids, more."

He picked the lump sum of $390,000. After federal and state tax withholdings, he took home $274,954.

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