Paula Harris of Warrenton said she looks forward to paying off her mortgage after a $5 scratch-off became a $150,000 surprise.
“I was so excited,” Harris said. “Now I can pay off my house.”
Harris, a 59-year-old school bus driver, said she told her children the good news right after she won.
“They couldn’t believe it either,” she recalled.
Harris bought her Cashword Multiplier ticket from the Speedway on West 3rd St. in Ayden.
“I love the crossword puzzles,” she said. “They are my favorite.”
Harris collected her prize at lottery headquarters Friday and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $106,876.
In addition to her paying off her mortgage, Harris said she would use the winnings to help out her kids.
Cashword Multiplier debuted in August with six $150,000 prizes. One $150,000 prize remains to be claimed.
Ticket sales from scratch-off games make it possible for the lottery to raise $2.5 million a day on average for education. The state provided $30 million in grants, using money raised by the lottery, to help Warren County build a new elementary school. For details on other ways Warren County benefits from lottery funds, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.
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