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Greensboro woman started crying after $1 million second-chance win

February 13, 2024 Posted by NC Lottery at 1:33 PM
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When Greensboro resident Maria Baquiran Moreno heard she won $1 million in a second-chance drawing, her emotions came pouring out.

“I was sobbing,” she recalled. “It was overwhelming.”

Moreno found out she won the grand prize in Wednesday’s $10 Million Spectacular Second Chance drawing when she got a phone call from the lottery. There were more than one million entries in the drawing.

“When I started crying my kids thought something was wrong,” Moreno laughed.

She said she likes to keep her scratch-offs and enter them into second-chance drawings.

“I always tell people to do the second chance because you never know,” Moreno said. “I’m the walking example of that.”

When Moreno arrived to collect her winnings Monday, she had a decision to make. She could choose to receive her prize as an annuity of $50,000 over 20 years or a lump sum of $600,000. She chose the lump sum of $600,000 and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $429,000.

Moreno said she plans to use her winnings to pay off her mortgage and possibly take a family trip to Japan.

Players get a second chance with their $10 Million Spectacular tickets by scanning the tickets into their lottery accounts where they are automatically entered into the drawing. Moreno won the top prize in the first of four $10 Million Spectacular Second Chance drawing. The date for the second drawing is July 3.

Check out the video below of Moreno finding out that she won.


18 COMMENTS

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2/26/2024 09:54 - Sabrina D S.

Congrats!!

2/14/2024 05:25 - Kimberly F.

Yes you never know when God will pick you so I always enter my ticket in rewards congratulations enjoy your winnings and have a safe wonderful trip

2/14/2024 04:22 - Bennie P.

Congratulations to the Lucky Winner. What is the process for selecting second chance winners?NC Lottery
Hi, Bennie! Lucke-Rewards and second-chance drawings are held using a Random Number Generator (RNG) – each entry is assigned a numerical value, and the RNG randomly selects the winning numbers, which correlates to the winning entries. Each entry has the same odds of winning in each drawing, though having more entries does increase your odds of being a lucky winner. But sometimes, it only takes one lucky entry to win!

2/14/2024 03:35 - Ryan D J.

I'm glad she won! That was quite an emotional phone call!

2/14/2024 01:48 - Angela D.

Congratulations and this is Awesome!!! Super happy for you and Praying one day I will experience the journey!

2/14/2024 11:44 - cynthia s.

Congratulations

2/14/2024 07:42 - Joe S.

Congratulations from Charlotte! :)

2/14/2024 12:31 - bobby c.

Just curious, what if nobody answers the phone? Do they just draw another name?NC Lottery
Hey, Bobby! Winners have 30 days to claim their prize from a second chance or Lucke-Rewards draw. Winners are notified via email, but we also follow up with a phone call (and we'll leave a message if there's no answer!) and a certified letter through the mail if the claim deadline is approaching and we haven't heard from a winner. This is why it's important to make sure your account info stays up-to-date! If we haven't heard from a winner after 30 days and after multiple contact attempts, we will move to an alternate winner.

2/13/2024 10:30 - Vivian p.

Congratulations Maria,I'm happy ?? for you. Enjoy your Winnings and your Family trip.

2/13/2024 10:07 - Edith A.

Congratulations!

2/13/2024 09:14 - cynthia w.

congrats! I'm next

2/13/2024 09:07 - Cheryl M.

Congratulations

2/13/2024 08:43 - Douglas H.

BIG CONGRATULATIONS to the Moreno Family. Wonderful!!!

2/13/2024 08:37 - Tracey B.

Just curious or interested. Did you enter tickets every day into the 2nd chance drawing?

2/13/2024 08:21 - Elizabeth W.

Congratulations waiting on my turn

2/13/2024 05:33 - Chester W.

Congrats!

2/13/2024 03:27 - SHINETTA B.

Congratulations

2/13/2024 02:04 - Vicki G.

Congrats to you!! How exciting!

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