DURHAM, N.C. – For Oscar Galdamez Rosales of Durham, North Carolina, a routine Saturday stop to handle a simple errand became the moment his luck changed forever. Rosales, a local resident, found himself $100,000 richer after a spontaneous decision led him to purchase a scratch-off ticket moments after getting a haircut.
The journey to the jackpot was as ordinary as it gets. After his trim, Rosales realized he needed cash for his barber. His detour took him to the Lighthouse Food Mart, a common lottery retailer. While completing his transaction, he decided, on a sudden impulse, to purchase a $20 Ruby Red 7’s scratch-off ticket.
The life-changing moment occurred quietly in his truck. “I scratched it in my truck and saw I won,” Rosales recalled. He had secured one of the top non-grand prizes in the popular scratch-off game.
This story highlights the sheer unpredictability of the North Carolina Education Lottery (NCEL), which was established in 2005 to raise funds for education. The Ruby Red 7’s game, launched in August 2025, is known for its multiple high-value tiers. Rosales’s prize was one of nine $100,000 prizes available, placing him among the lucky few.
Upon claiming his winnings at lottery headquarters, Rosales received a check for $71,756, after mandatory federal and state taxes were deducted. For Rosales, the money is already earmarked for a meaningful purpose.
“This will help me complete some goals that I have—it’s definitely going to help,” he confirmed, highlighting the personal, beneficial impact of the sudden fortune.
The win has provided a temporary boost to the retailer, Lighthouse Food Mart, which benefits from the publicity of selling a major winning ticket. Meanwhile, the NCEL continues to promote the game, noting that two $2 million jackpots and five $100,000 prizes remain unclaimed in the Ruby Red 7’s game. The NCEL consistently encourages responsible play through its Play Smart™ program, recognizing that while these spontaneous stories are exciting, the odds of such outcomes remain low.
Rosales’s unplanned jackpot serves as a compelling human-interest anecdote, reinforcing the narrative that a tiny, unplanned deviation in a weekend routine can sometimes lead to extraordinary financial success.