Man wins $2M from lottery ticket bought at friend's urging By (0) James Gibbs Jr. of Greensboro, N.C., said a friend urged him to buy some scratch-off lottery tickets and he ended up winning a $2 million jackpot. Photo by Pung/Shutterstock.com March 10 (UPI) -- A North Carolina man learned that peer pressure sometimes can be profitable after a friend urged him to try out some scratch-off lottery tickets and he won a $2 million top prize. James Gibbs Jr., of Greensboro, told North Carolina Education Lottery officials he was at a store in the city with a friend when the other man urged him to try his luck with some lottery tickets.