A Hoosier Lottery winner from Gerogetown, Indiana, has decided to go back to school and study automotive collision repair so that he can find a better job.
Terry Spalding, 20, bought his winning Cash for Life scratch-off ticket on February 3. While he was en route to his second-shift job Spalding popped into the Georgetown Express Mart to buy a couple of energy drinks and decided to splash out an extra dollar on a lottery ticket while he was there.
Spalding got busy scratching his ticket as soon as he got back to his pickup and originally thought he'd won $500, but when he returned to the store the clerk told him the prize was $500 a week for the rest of his life.
"I got one big lump sum of lucky handed to me that day," Spalding said.
The former mold operator now has his eyes firmly set on the future, but further schooling is not his only dream. Spalding has already bought a new Volkswagen Jetta, and is now searching for an apartment with plenty of room for the large TV he intends to buy.
Spalding returned to the Express Mart on Wednesday so photographers could snap him being presented with a large check.
"It’s not a huge amount of money, but it’s huge for him," Spalding's father said. "It kind of helps him get a foot up."
Spalding's mother was also pleased about the unexpected win. "It's a big relief," she said. "I think it’s a blessing really."
