Man wins $7.5 million in lottery after buying every single ticket

A US man visited 40 stores and bought every single scratchie ticket he could find – and ended up winning millions for his efforts.

Kevin Clark, from Candler in North Carolina, had a hunch that the top US$5 million (NZ$7.5m) prize in the Mega Cash scratch-off game would be won in the western part of the state.

So he came up with an unusual strategy to ensure he got his hands on the lucky scratchcard – by travelling from store to store and buying every ticket he could find.

Clark spent four hours on his quest to purchase every $20 Mega Cash scratchie ticket he came across in around 40 different stores.

And while it is not known how much he spent in total, it's safe to say he came out on top after a ticket he bought from a Stop N Go outlet in Swannanoa, North Carolina, ended up being the winner.

In the end, he decided to pocket a $3m (NZ$4.5m) lump sum instead of taking the $US5m as an annuity of $250,000 (NZ$378,000) per year for two decades.

After taxes, he was left with a total cash prize of around $2.1m (NZ$3.1m).

"I had a real good feeling it was going to be in the western part of the state," Clark said, according to the NC Education Lottery.

However, he said he was still stunned when his tactic paid off.

"I scanned it with my phone and it told me to go see a retailer," he said.

"So, I scratched it off, and when I scratched it off I couldn't believe it. I started shaking. And then I cried.

"I'm a simple man and I mow grass ... But I've always been interested in real estate, so my biggest plans with the majority of the money is to invest in real estate and some small businesses."

The proceeds from the NC Education Lottery go towards funding education in the state.

Meanwhile, one of Australia's newest multi-millionaires stunned lottery officials last week after vowing to potentially "work harder" – even after a $20m Powerball win.

While he said he planned to spoil himself "a little", he also said he had no immediate plans to quit his job to enjoy his millions.

"There's certainly a lot to think about. I want to save some for the future and invest some too," he said.

"I don't know what I will do with work. I could take it easy or work harder.

"But one thing is for sure, I will certainly be taking some time off to enjoy life as a multi-millionaire."