Julie Barham of Zebulon lay on her bed scratching a $5 lottery ticket when all of a sudden she won the first $150,000 top prize in a new holiday game.
“I just started screaming,” she said. “I was so excited.”
Her screams immediately got the attention of her children.
“My kids came running up the stairs,” Barham recalled. “They started jumping up and down when they found out.”
She purchased her lucky Peppermint Payout ticket from Archer Lodge Express on Buffalo Road in Archer Lodge. Barham said she likes the new scratch and sniff feature of the Peppermint Payout game.
“I was like, ‘Gosh this smells like peppermint,’” she laughed.
She collected her prize at lottery headquarters Wednesday and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $107,626.
“It feels good to win this right before Christmas,” she said.
Barham plans to put her winnings into savings.
The Peppermint Payout game debuted in November with three $150,000 top prizes. Two $150,000 prizes remain to be claimed.
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