A woman in North Carolina got the best early birthday surprise after landing a massive lottery win.
Pamela Doyle, of Zebulon, recently scored a $100,000 prize in the lottery's Season End Blowout drawing, which had more than 5 million entries, according to a release for the NC Education Lottery. When she realized she was one of the lucky winners, she called it a "huge shock" and couldn't believe she won.
"I thought, 'This can't be real, there's no way,'" she told lottery officials. "All the way up here I was shaking."
Doyle claimed her prize at lottery headquarters on Tuesday (January 14), taking home a total of $71,750 after all required state and federal tax withholdings. She told lottery officials she plans to use her new winnings to help take care of her mother.
The exciting win also came at just the right time as the Wake County woman was getting ready to celebrate her birthday and even planned to use her party as a way to surprise her children.
"I'm going to surprise my kids with the big check at my birthday party," Doyle said. "I'll be 56 years old tomorrow."
According to the lottery website, three total players were awarded a $100,000 prize in the Season End Blowout drawing on January 8.