North Carolina woman stops at gas station to buy an orange juice — walks out $250,000 richer

Fruit juices are generally considered beneficial for personal health, but it turns out that a box of orange juice can significantly boost a person's wealth as well. This was true at least for a North Carolina woman who stopped at a random gas station to pick up juice and walked out with a $250,000 prize. Kelly Spahr struck gold with her $20 Merry Multiplier scratch-off ticket which she bought as an afterthought.

A Fruitful Investment

Spahr purchased her scratch-off ticket from the Quality Mart on Piney Grove Road in Kernersville. While many buy tickets out of habit or because they are feeling lucky, Spahr had a rather peculiar reason. “When I was at the gas station I saw that there were new tickets out so I decided to try them,” Spahr told the lottery officials. It was the holiday theme of the ticket that drew her attention, especially the "folding part on it," according to a press release. Spahr collected her prize from the lottery headquarters, netting a total of $178,756 after state and federal taxes, as per the N.C. Education Lottery.

Spahr beat the odds of one in 617,040 to win the top prize. “It’s nice to know that big wins like this really do happen,” she said. According to the press release, this was the first day that the Merry Multiplier tickets were offered for sale. For $20, players get “a booklet of five scratch-off tickets,” and each of them gives them a chance to win the grand prize of $250,000 and a second shot at winning in another drawing to be held on February 5, 2025. Spahr said the big win means a lot to her family and it has "opened some more doors" for them.  

This isn't the first time that a box of orange juice led to a mega lottery win. Back in 2018, a man from New Jersey ended up winning a whopping $315 million prize after he went to return some orange juice. The lucky winner Tayeb Souami was following his wife's instructions to save some money by returning the expensive boxes of juice.

However, when he spotted the lottery ticket stand and saw the Powerball jackpot, he was mesmerized by the reward being promised. At the time, the 56-year-old accountant was heavily burdened with debt and was financially struggling to support his family. The financial troubles were also a reason why his wife forced him to return the orange juice, available at cheaper rates in other stores, The Washington Post reported.

However, Souami spent the savings to buy the Powerball tickets at the grocery store after coming across the $306 million prize. "I like the number," he said at the press conference. He then bought two tickets and quietly went back home. The next day, Soami was reminded of the tickets when he noticed a 7-Eleven store at a traffic signal. Upon checking, he found that he had won the $315 million Powerball jackpot. He chose to take the lump sum amount and the couple finally took home $183 million in cash after taxes.