Michelle Morganti of Durham got terrific news just days before her birthday when she found out she won $100,000 in a second-chance drawing.

“I’m just flabbergasted,” she said. “It feels like a miracle.”

Morganti won her prize in the third of four $8 Million Money Maker Second Chance drawings. There were over 1.5 million total entries in the drawing.

“It’s coming at a very good time for us,” she said. “My husband needs to retire and this will make it a lot easier.”

Players get a second chance with their $8 Million Money Maker scratch-offs by scanning them into their lottery accounts where they are automatically entered into the drawing. The drawing had one top prize of $1 million, three $100,000 prizes, 10 $25,000 winners and 50 winners of $500.

Morganti arrived at lottery headquarters to claim her prize and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $72,010.

Morganti said this is not the first time she has gotten lucky with the lottery.

“The lottery helped pay for my education,” she shared. “It paid for part of my books and classes for nursing school.”

Education programs in Durham County received $13.6 million in support from lottery funds last year. For details on how lottery funds have made a difference in all of North Carolina’s 100 counties, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section of the lottery’s website.