By Kathy Chaffin

Salisbury Post

CHINA GROVE — A man here won $21,000 on a scratch-off ticket he purchased Monday at a Little Buck convenience store in Concord.

Eddie Wilson of Shady Woods Road said he rarely buys scratch-offs, but saw a stack of “21” tickets on the counter that the store clerk was getting ready to put in the stands.

“The girl said they were some of the new ones,” he said, “and I said, ‘Let me have one.’ ”

Wilson, 44, then went out to his truck, scratched the ticket and realized he had won.

Like the card game by the same name, the player has to scratch off cards higher than the dealer’s without going over 21. The dealer’s hand on Wilson’s scratch-off ticket had a 9 and an 8 for a total of 17, and he had a Jack and a 9 totalling 19.

A contractor, Wilson was with his son, Jamie, when he won. “It actually made him mad,” he said. “He was going to buy it and changed his mind, and I bought it and then he bought one.”

Wilson said he usually buys a Powerball ticket for every Wednesday and Saturday night drawing. “That’s the first scratch-off I’ve bought in four months,” he said.

Despite his win, Wilson said he’s not likely to start buying scratch-offs on a regular basis. “I might buy one once in a while,” he said.

When asked what he plans to do with the money, Wilson said, “just spend it paying bills and stuff.” His wife, Jewel, was excited about his win along with his three grown children and their families, which include four grandchildren.

Across North Carolina this past week, scratch-off ticket players claimed top prizes worth more than $160,000.