Lottery win lets couple celebrate 55-year anniversary early. ‘We are delighted’
A husband won a huge lottery prize — giving him and his wife an extra reason to celebrate their anniversary.
“Two weeks from now we are hitting our 55th wedding anniversary,” Richard Dooley told the North Carolina Education Lottery. “This is a nice early anniversary present.”
Dooley lives in Cary, just west of Raleigh. He learned he won $100,000 when a lottery worker called him with the good news.
“It was really surprising,” the lucky winner told lottery officials in a June 9 news release. “We are delighted.”
Dooley got richer after he bought a $30 scratch-off ticket for the Millionaire Maker game. He entered the ticket in a second-chance drawing and beat out more than 4 million entries to score the second-tier prize.
“You’ve got to be in it to win it,” Dooley said.
The prize winner kept $71,750 after taxes. He plans to donate to charity and share some of the money with his daughter, according to officials.
It’s not the first time a lottery player has received an early gift. Another North Carolina winner claimed a big prize days before his birthday, McClatchy News reported in May 2024.
This story was originally published June 9, 2025 at 10:34 AM with the headline "Lottery win lets couple celebrate 55-year anniversary early. ‘We are delighted’."
