A lucky lottery play in North Carolina is celebrating the win of a lifetime after landing a prize worth more than half a million dollars.
Carrie White, of Raleigh, spent some time earlier this month playing her favorite digital instant game, Bison Bonanza, when her luck took an exciting turn for the better. According to a release from the NC Education Lottery, she played a $2 ticket on February 3 and ended up beating the 1 in 15.5 million odds to win the top level "Epic jackpot" and score the $717,538 progressive jackpot, much to her own surprise.
"I cried," she said. "I just couldn't believe it."
White told lottery officials that she repeatedly checked to see if she did in fact win the massive prize, and luckily for her, she did.
"I just kept logging back in over and over again to see if it was still there," she said, laughing. "That's a once-in-a-lifetime thing."
White claimed her prize at lottery headquarters on Monday (February 17), taking home an impressive $514,835 after all required state and federal tax withholdings. She explained to lottery officials that she plans to use her new winnings to put a down payment on a home.