Jasmine Maloy of Charlotte will be able to experience her first Panthers game in style after she won a luxury suite for 12 for the 2019 season.
“I’ve lived in Charlotte my whole life,” said Maloy, a longtime Panthers fan. “But I’ve never had a chance to see a game in person. Now I’m going to be able to watch them from the suite, which makes it even better!”
The health insurance worker won the prize after she entered a Carolina Panthers scratch-off ticket into the lottery’s second-chance drawing. Her entry was drawn from more than 344,000.
“My fiancé and I talked about who we’d invite when we entered,” Maloy said. “But we never imagined we’d actually win.”
Maloy found out she won the grand prize when the lottery invited her to the Bank of America Stadium. When Maloy and her fiancé entered the suite, they were greeted by cheering TopCats and Sir Purr who rushed to present her with a giant key. After a round of high fives and hugs, he motioned her to look out the window where she saw the video messaging board in the stadium lit up with her name.
“Oh my God! This is incredible,” Maloy said when she looked out at the stadium. “I can’t believe I get to be part of this. It means so much to me to win.”
Maloy and 11 of her friends will be able to watch every home game of the 2019 season from the luxury suite. With a $1,000 food allowance for each game, she’s confident she won’t have any trouble finding people to come.
“My fiancé and step-dad will be at every game,” Maloy said. “I also have a lot of friends who are Panthers fans. I’m pretty sure we already have our guest list maxed out.”
As a final surprise, the lottery sent Maloy on a $300 shopping spree at the Panthers team store. Sir Purr wasted no time pointing out the perfect apparel for her to wear to her first big game.
“I didn’t expect any of this,” Maloy said. “I’m not kidding when I say I don’t win anything. Even if it’s something simple like a raffle, I never win. This is so surreal.”
She claimed her suite tickets Friday at the lottery claim center in Charlotte. The total value of the prize is $124,000. Maloy said she’s so excited about winning, she might even make the luxury suite part of her wedding day.
“Sir Purr can be my maid of honor,” Maloy joked. “Who knows, maybe I will have my reception here.”
The lottery launched its second Carolina Panthers ticket in August. The $5 ticket offered five top prizes of $200,000 as well as multiple second-chance drawings for V.I.P. Panther game experiences.
Ticket sales from games like Carolina Panthers make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $650 million a year for education. For details on how lottery funds have made a difference in all of North Carolina’s 100 counties, click on the “Impact” section of the lottery’s website. https://www.nclottery.com.