LEBANON, Tenn. — Two friends in Tennessee are now each $1.5 million richer thanks to a scratch-off lottery ticket.
Wyatt Close and Brandon Thompson were riding to work together on Oct. 1, when they pulled into the QuikTrip on Sparta Pike in Lebanon, Tennessee.
Thompson decided just that morning to split the cost of a couple of lottery tickets with Close. Thompson almost backed out but agreed to put in for the tickets — and he is glad he did.
The store didn't have the game Close had his eye on, so Close bought two "Jumbo Bucks Titanium" instant tickets and took them back to the van.
"That was about his fourth ticket (Thompson) has ever purchased," Close said. "I bought them on and off since I've been 18 years old. I've never had any luck like this, though."
Close and Thompson were ready to try their luck last week. But Close wouldn't call it luck — rather a blessing.
"One of the guys in there said that he had two more of the $30 tickets in there, so we ended up buying those and about three other tickets. I don't remember which ones it was," Close said.
The buddies had gone to a few gas stations looking for a particular lottery ticket, and when they walked into the station in Lebanon, they walked out a lot richer.
"I just told him to scratch the ticket off, let's see what it is," Close said. "He got down and scratched it, and I saw a big black bold number, so it was just it was a new feeling."
Close says it was an unbelievable feeling.
"I was just jumping up and down. He was excited as well. I don't know; it was just a feeling like I never felt before," he said.
The $30 ticket turned into a $3 million win, and when asking the teen what he wanted to buy with his new earnings, Close says someday a home in Wilson County.
"I haven't really spent too much of it yet. I bought a razor so far; that's about all I spent the money on," Close said.
At just 19, Close has his own car detailing business, so with the winnings, he says he wants to play it smart and advises others in this situation to do the same.
"I got a lot of money. I'm gonna invest it in the right amount of things and see a big return in a couple of years, of course," he said.
Close has a CPA to help him make financial decisions, but for now, he says he doesn't want to keep trying his luck.
This story was originally published by Kelsey Gibbs on Scripps station WTVF in Nashville.
