A stranger’s lucky decision turned into a $100,000 win for some co-workers after they had him choose their ticket.
Shamia Kirk from Wilson, Diane Hinnant from Clayton, and Johnathan Barefoot from Benson work at a pharmaceutical company in Johnston County.
On Tuesday, they pooled their money to buy a package of scratch-off tickets, but didn’t know which ones to get.
“We couldn’t decide between the tickets,” Shamia said. “So we asked a stranger to choose for us.”
They asked one of the customers in the Rose Mart on West Raleigh Road in Wilson to pick for them. He chose 10th Anniversary Millions.
They took the tickets back to work, and the first one they scratched was worth $100,000.
“I thought I was going to pass out,” Diane said. “I showed the ticket to Shamia who almost had a heart attack, and Johnathan got up and did a few circles.”
After work they rushed to lottery headquarters in Raleigh to claim their prize. After state and federal tax withholdings, they each took home $23,084. Diane plans to use the money for her grandbaby that’s on the way. Shamia plans to enjoy some basketball in Charlotte, and Johnathan is going to give some to his church.
10th Anniversary Millions launched in April with four top prizes of $1 million and six prizes of $100,000. Two $1 million and three $100,000 prizes remain.
Ticket sales from games like 10th Anniversary Millions helped raise more than half a billion dollars for the state last year. For details on how lottery funds have made a difference in all of North Carolina’s 100 counties, click on the “For Education” section of the lottery’s website.