Retired retailer Charles W. Jackson Jr. from North Carolina was given a fortune cookie as a gift from his granddaughter.
Appreciating the gesture, he used its lucky numbers on a lottery ticket for Powerball.
Little did he know his numbers were some of the luckiest in history.
Upon seeing that day's Powerball numbers, Jackson thought he had won only $50k (a tidy sum), and began heading into nearby Ralleigh to pick it up.
Before long, however, he noticed he was a little luckier than he thought:
"I said, 'Dang, I got them all.'"
After calling his wife and letting her know of the situation, Jackson arrived to claim his prize: $344.6 million, the most money ever claimed off of a single North Carolina ticket.
Jackson decided to receive his payout in a lump sum of $223 million, at least $1 million of which he said he'd be giving to his brother to settle a bargain.
At his press conference, however, a lot of the attention was stolen by the Powerball mascot standing just behind him.
According to CBS News, he also plans to donate portions of his winnings to charities such as "St. Jude's, Shriner's Hospital and the Wounded Warrior Project."
The retired husband commented at a press conference that he hopes the influx of cash doesn't change him:
"I'm still going to wear my jeans - maybe newer ones."
Fox News
John McDonnell/Getty Images
@eltokh/X
