On a recent trip to a convenience store, Licette Griffin of Greensboro made a prediction to the clerk that she was going to win soon and, the very next day, she won a $1 million prize.

“I told him, ‘One of these days it’s going to happen,’” Griffin said. “The next day this happened.”

For Griffin, a 59-year-old IT worker, that day happened when she bought a $10 Jumbo Bucks ticket from Gate City Express on East Lee Street in Greensboro. She said she went home and sat outside on her porch while she scratched her ticket.

“When I saw I won, my hands started shaking,” Griffin said. “I called my husband and he immediately left work and came home.”

Griffin said this year is a monumental year for her and her husband.

“It’s our 25-year wedding anniversary,” Griffin said. “This win will allow us to celebrate the way we want to.”

Griffin said she plans to take a trip with her husband to Puerto Rico for a week to celebrate their anniversary and their birthdays. She said they will also invest some of the winnings and donate some to their church.

When Griffin arrived at lottery headquarters to collect her prize, she had a decision to make. She could choose to receive the prize as an annuity of $50,000 over 20 years or a lump sum of $600,000. She chose the lump-sum amount of $600,000 and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $426,063.

Ticket sales from scratch-off games make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $900 million per year for education. For details on how $33.2 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Guilford County in 2021, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.