Tina Rankin of Charlotte couldn’t speak after she won the top $150,000 Casino Riches prize.
Rankin said she was so shocked she didn’t know what to say. “I just kept looking at the ticket and saying to myself ‘this can’t be real,’” Rankin said.
Rankin claimed her prize Tuesday. After required state and federal tax withholdings, she took home $103,876. She plans to use the money to get a new car and set up a savings account for her two boys.
Rankin bought the $5 winning ticket at the Lawyers Food Mart on Lawyers Road in Charlotte.
Casino Riches launched in September with four top prizes of $150,000. One top prize remains.
Ticket sales from games like Casino Riches made it possible for the lottery to raise more than half a billion dollars for the state last year. For details on how more than $352.6 million in lottery funds have made a difference in Mecklenburg County, click on the “For Education” section of the lottery’s website.