The belief in lucky No. 7 proved right for Camisha Spencer of Yanceyville who bought a Ruby Red 7’s scratch-off ticket and took home the first $4 million top prize of the game.
It was a regular Monday for Spencer until she stopped to get gas at the Westside Shell on U.S. 158 West in Yanceyville. She couldn’t decide which of three scratch-off tickets to buy, so she got all three.
“I always make sure to get a Ruby Red,” Spencer said. “It’s exciting when you get the 7’s like that.”
Spencer, who works upwards of 50 hours a week between two retail jobs, called winning this money “a big dream” she didn’t ever see coming.
“I still don’t have my mind set up with knowing I have money now,” she said. “I’m about to cry.”
She didn’t think she had a winner on her hands at first. So she scratched the entire ticket.
That’s when she hollered “I’m rich!” to the family members in the car with her.
The mother of three and grandmother to three said she wants to put some money aside to set them up for college.
“I’m going to take care of my family, for one thing,” Spencer said. “And I’ve always wanted a BMW ever since I was little.”
Spencer claimed her prize at lottery headquarters in Raleigh on Tuesday. She had the choice of getting $200,000 a year for 20 years or a lump sum of $2.4 million. She chose the lump sum and after federal and state tax withholdings received $1,698,006.
The $20 Ruby Red 7’s game launched in January. Three top prizes of $4 million remain.
Ticket sales from scratch-off games make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $700 million a year for education. For details on how lottery funds made a difference in all of North Carolina’s 100 counties, click on the “Impact” section of the lottery’s website.
Login to leave a comment.