RALEIGH – Rose Davis, a house-cleaner from Nashville in Nash County, bought an Extreme Green ticket on Wednesday and won $500. As she was claiming her prize, she decided to buy three more tickets, the third of which won her the game’s $200,000 top prize.

“I was sitting at home and scratching the last ticket when I saw it,” she said. “I just went limp in the chair. I was already tickled pink about the $500, but after that I was speechless. You just can’t prepare for something like this.”

She plans to use her winnings, worth $136,001 after taxes were withheld, to purchase a new truck and take a trip to Las Vegas. She purchased her winning ticket at the L & L Stores on South N.C. 58 in Nashville.

Davis appreciates that the money she spends on lottery tickets goes to assist education programs across the state.

“I know I am making a donation every time I buy a ticket,” she said.

“I still can’t believe I’m sitting here in the lottery office waiting for a big check,” Davis added, holding back tears. “This is life-changing. Today is the day my life changes.”

As of Thursday, six top prizes remain to be claimed in the Extreme Green game.
Since the lottery began through June 30, 2011, Nash County education programs received more than $21.3 million in lottery funds. By law, those funds pay for teachers’ salaries, school construction, need-based college scholarships and prekindergarten programs.

To date, the N.C. Education Lottery has raised more than $2.2 billion for these initiatives statewide.