Mputu Mpeti Basemo of Charlotte said a coffee run and a spur-of-the-moment $2 Carolina Keno purchase led to a $100,000 lottery win.

“I just stopped in to buy a cup of coffee,” said Basemo. “That’s it! I wasn’t expecting to win anything. I just wanted to try the game. This is only the second time I’ve played Keno, too!”

The mother of three spends her evenings studying for nursing school, so, “like most nights,” she said she needed a caffeinated pick-me-up to help stay focused. When she stopped by the 7-Eleven on Old Providence Road in Charlotte on Sunday to satisfy her coffee craving, she decided to try her luck on Carolina Keno.

Basemo bought a ticket for two drawings — totaling $2 — and headed home, unknowingly carrying around a ticket worth $100,000 the entire way.

“When I checked the numbers I couldn’t believe it,” said Basemo. “I thought to myself, ‘Now that’s too many zeroes. There has to be a mistake!’ But it wasn’t a mistake. This is real!”

She claimed her prize Monday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required state and federal tax withholdings, Basemo took home $70,750. She said she knows exactly what she will do with some of the money.

“I am in nursing school,” said Basemo. “I graduate next year and have to pay student loans. I kept worrying about how I was going to cover everything. Now I’ve got help! It just feels so good.”

Carolina Keno is a statewide draw game that offers players chances to win prizes in drawings every four minutes. Players choose how many numbers, or spots, they want to try and match. The number of spots they play and match determines how much they win. That’s 311 drawings a day with a chance to win up to $100,000.

Ticket sales from draw games make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $700 million a year for education. For details on how lottery funds have helped all of North Carolina’s 100 counties, click on the “Impact” section of the lottery’s website, https://www.nclottery.com.