Catherine Trew of Charlotte received a Mother’s Day gift from her husband she won’t soon forget — the first $1 million Platinum 7s top prize.
“My husband came home Sunday afternoon and said, ‘I got you another Mother’s Day gift,’” she recalled. “And he handed me three scratch-offs.”
The couple sat on their back swing as Trew scratched her tickets.
“The first one was nothing,” she said. “The second one, I won $20, which I thought was wonderful, and then on the third one, the second number I scratched had that “1 MIL” bedside it. And we just sort of stared at it.”
Trew’s husband purchased the winning $10 ticket at the EZ Mart on Monroe Road in Charlotte. The couple went back after scratching the ticket to scan and verify it.
“We were jumping up and down and screaming in the store,” recalled Trew. “My sister said, ‘He’s never gonna top this one!’”
Trew claimed her prize Tuesday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh.
She had the option of taking the $1 million as an annuity of $50,000 a year over 20 years, or a lump sum of $600,000. Trew chose the annuity and, after state and federal tax withholdings, walked away with her first payment of $35,378.
“It hasn’t really sunk in,” she said. “It’s unbelievable, we’re so excited. It’s going to be retirement money.”
Platinum 7s launched this month with five top prizes of $1 million. Four top prizes remain to be won.
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Congratulations! Why are there so many winners in Charlotte? There are 100 counties in NC. Spread the wealth to the smaller counties.