Friends of Over 30 Years Keep Promise to Split Lottery Jackpot with One Another: 'a True Friend'
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NC Education Lottery.
Two lifelong friends have honored a yearslong promise following a lucky win.
Last week, Perry Charles won a $361,527 Fast Play jackpot and shared his prize with his friend Scott Edwards, honoring a pact they previously made to split any big lottery wins, according to the North Carolina Education Lottery.
"I'd just gotten off of work," Charles recalled of purchasing a ticket. "I looked at the amount you could win and thought to myself, 'Man, I want this!' "
After learning he had won the prize when he returned home from the Mast Food Mart on Old U.S. 64 East in Lexington, Charles called Edward right away to share the exciting news.
"I was lost for words. I was kind of in shock too because to me that's a lot of money to win. And I know that anything he says is just the truth. So, I knew when he told me that he wasn't pulling my leg," he said. "He's what you call a true friend. Kinda like family."
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Charles bought a $5 Double Win ticket at the Mast Food Mart when the Fast Play jackpot stood at $723,054. A $5 ticket, the North Carolina Education Lottery states, receives 50 percent of the jackpot amount.
After heading to the lottery headquarters to collect his prize, Charles received $128,361 after required federal and state tax withholdings.
The North Carolina Education Lottery said that both men said they are hoping to pay some bills with their newfound cash.
The organization also noted that Charles and Edwards first met while working at a Winn-Dixie.
"He was my boss!" Edwards shared with a laugh, as Charles added, "We always talked about if we would hit something big, it didn't matter if we went in together to get the ticket or if we got it separate, we were gonna share it with each other."
