Pamela Lunsford of Rosman said she was so afraid she might lose her $20 Winter Winnings ticket that she taped the $100,000 winning ticket to her leg for safekeeping.

“I can lose a purse or a book bag but I can’t lose my leg,” Lunsford laughed.

She arrived at lottery headquarters on Tuesday with her winning ticket safely in tow to collect her prize.

Lunsford said she bought three scratch-off tickets from the Lake Toxaway Trading Post on Rosman Highway in Lake Toxaway. She won $100 on her first ticket and $30 on her second ticket.

“I was really excited that I won $130,” Lunsford said. “When I realized what I won on the last ticket, I started shaking. I was in total shock.”

After required federal and state tax withholdings, she took home $70,756.

“Something like this, it’s life-changing for me,” Lunsford said.

Lunsford, 60, said she took her kids out to a nice crab dinner in Asheville after she won. She also said she plans to buy a new car to replace her old car that was totaled in an accident a few months ago.

The Winter Winnings game launched in November with two top prizes of $1 million and two $100,000 prizes. Two $1 million prizes remain to be claimed.

Ticket sales from scratch-off games like Winter Winnings make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $900 million per year for education. For details on how money raised by the lottery made a difference in Transylvania County in 2020, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.