Change in morning routine leads to ‘life-changing’ lottery win for North Carolina man

A North Carolina man changed his morning routine — and it led to a $2 million lottery prize.

“First thing I did was scream at the top of my lungs,” winner John Teague of Johnston County told the N.C. Education Lottery.

Now, Teague has big plans to spoil his wife, Deborah.

“I told her, ‘Now I can get you the house that you deserve,’” Teague said in a March 21 news release. “This is a life-changing event.”

Teague, who works as a maintenance director, scored the jackpot prize after he switched up his daily routine. Instead of going straight to work, officials said he stopped to get gas and a $20 scratch-off ticket.

While at a Circle K store in Smithfield — roughly 30 miles southeast of Raleigh — Teague reported doing something else that was out of the ordinary. He usually buys a different scratch-off, but this time he felt compelled to play the Grand Money lottery game.

“I just had this overwhelming feeling telling me to buy that ticket,” Teague said in the release.