Violet Holt of Garysburg bought a $5 scratch-off Monday but could not immediately see the $200,000 prize staring back at her.
“At first I thought it was $20,” she laughed. “I didn’t have my glasses on.”
Holt bought the lucky Lightning 7’s ticket from New Dixie Mart on Julian Allsbrook Highway in Roanoke Rapids.
“I wasn’t going to get out of the car at first and go inside,” she said. “I only went in because I saw somebody I knew.”
Holt won the first $200,000 top prize in the new scratch-off game.
“My prayers have been answered,” she said. “This is a blessing.”
She arrived to claim her winnings Monday and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $142,501.
Holt said she has wanted to buy some land for years and now she can.
“I’m so excited and blessed and thankful,” she said.
The Lightning 7’s game debuted last month with six $200,000 top prizes. Five $200,000 prizes remain 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. Northampton County has received almost $50 million in grants to help with new school construction. For details on other ways Northampton County benefits from lottery funds, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.
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