Lotto makes '70 Chevelle dream come true

By NICOLE YOUNG



Since he's been able to drive, Nick Browning has been working to get his 1970 Chevelle fixed up and on the road.

But with three years passing, it seemed like a distant dream until he walked into a Mayo liquor store last week for a bottle of root beer and a scratch-off lottery ticket.

Now, the 19-year-old Edgewater resident is $100,000 richer and his Chevelle is on track to become the ultimate muscle car.

After putting $10 in the lottery machine at Lou's Liquors Sunday afternoon, Nick realized the light was out on the Holiday Magic ticket he wanted. But he pushed the button anyway, hoping to produce a winning ticket.

"When the light is out, it's usually sold out and there are none left," he said. "All they had left were $2 and $3 scratch-offs so I said, 'What the hell,' and bought it anyway. I didn't want to have to buy five $2 scratch-offs."

The machine managed to spit out one more ticket and Nick and his girlfriend, Abbye Lucas, took the ticket back to her house where they scratched it off together using his lucky 1899 half-dollar.

The coin was a gift from his father when he became an Eagle Scout and has been the lucky coin he carries in his wallet ever since.

"Honestly, I didn't believe it," he said. "Her reaction was the same as mine - couldn't believe it. The most I had won before was $100."

The disbelief soon turned to excitement when Nick realized what he could do with the cash.

Although his options were pretty wide with his newfound fortune, he managed to narrow them down to three things: pay off bills, put some money away toward buying a house and fix up his blue 1970 Chevelle.

The car was a gift from his father for the South River High School alum's good attendance and grades.

Nick has yet to drive the Chevelle he's had since he was 16, but already has plans for its pending makeover - a 454 big block engine and a four-speed manual transmission, among other things.

"It's been his dream to fix it up," said his father, Don Browning.. "He's the type of kid that has never been in trouble and it couldn't have happened to a nicer kid - he deserved it."

Nick called his parents to deliver the good news and even took the winning ticket back to the store to make sure his eyes weren't deceiving him.

"I was at home and got a phone call from my son," Mr. Browning said. "He asked me where I was at and if I was sitting down. I go 'Oh my God, he's wrecked the car.' "

When Nick told his father he had hit it big, Mr. Browning assumed it was $400, $500 at the most.

"I told him I didn't care where he was, but that he needed to get that ticket here and not let it out of his sight," Mr. Browning said. "This is the most exciting thing that's ever happened to us. It was just one of those things. We play and never win more than $4 or $5 and it's a fantastic experience."

Nick said he used to buy at least one lottery ticket a day and stopped for about two months before purchasing Sunday's winning ticket.

A third-year apprentice electrician at Dawson Electric by day and a student at night, Nick said friends didn't believe him either.

"I would consider him pretty lucky," Mr. Browning said. "He doesn't fall into things, but he makes his own luck. Nothing's handed to him, anything he does or gets or wins he gets on his own."

The guys at his work aren't making things any easier for him either, he said, teasing him about the cash and asking where their portion is.

"They know it's for real they are all excited for me," he said.

- No Jumps-