A former preschool teacher won US$250,000 three

months after being laid off from his job in the United States.

Joe Camp was let go from his job in Charlotte,

North Carolina in September amid the coronavirus pandemic. A month later, his

father died.

Camp said the two major setbacks put him in a “dark

place”, but that his family and friends encouraged him to believe in himself.

Just as he thought things couldn’t get worse, his fortunes changed,

literally.

“Thursday morning, I went to the store and bought a scratch-off

ticket like I usually do,” Camp said. “And 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.”

Camp won a US$250,000 Gold Rush ticket, which he says he plans to use on

his family. He says he wants to save for his daughter’s education and buy a new

home.

“What I plan on doing with my winnings is having a future for my

daughter,” he 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.”