The gift of a $20 lottery ticket from her son turned into a $100,000 prize for Virginia Brown of Greenwood, S.C.

Brown’s son purchased her lucky Ruby Red 7’s ticket at Catamount Travel Center on U.S. 441 in Whittier.

“I called him and said, ‘You better bring me a lottery ticket back!’” recalled Brown. “So, he brought me one and I picked the lucky one.”

When she scratched it and saw her big prize, Brown “didn’t know what to do.” “I was just so thankful,” she said. “Oh, Lord, that was a blessing for real.”

Brown claimed her prize Thursday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required state and federal tax withholdings, she took home $70,756.

“I’m gonna go buy me a car,” said Brown of her plans for her prize money. “I don’t want a really expensive car. I just want a little, nice car. I like Jettas. They are so cute.”

Ruby Red 7’s launched in January with four top prizes of $4 million and eight prizes of $100,000. One $4 million top prize and two $100,000 prizes remain to be won.

Ticket sales from scratch-off games make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $725 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.