Laid-Off Charlotte Preschool Teacher Scores $250,000 Lottery Win

CHARLOTTE, NC — A recently laid-off preschool teacher in Charlotte won $250,000, North Carolina Education Lottery announced.

Joe Camp recently bought the winning $250,000 Gold Rush scratch-off ticket from Coulwood BP, located at 8111 Bellhaven Boulevard in Charlotte.

"I bought two tickets. I didn’t win on the first one, so I tried the second and I scratched it off, and I fell to my knees at the gas pump," he told NCEL officials.

Camp said he was a preschool teacher for 20 years, but was laid off in early September.

"A month after that, my dad passed away. And it put me in a dark place," Camp said. "But I have a lot of friends and family that just told me to keep sticking in there, keep believing in myself."

Camp claimed the prize Dec. 21 at NCEL headquarters in Raleigh, and after paying federal and state tax, took home $176,876.

“What I plan on doing with my winnings is having a future for my daughter,” including using the money for a new home, and saving for her education, he said.

“I want to get a home because I want to set it up for my family, my grandkids,” Camp said. “I want to have something for us. I never had anything, no one passed anything down, and that’s what I want to do.”