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Wake County woman left “in a daze” after learning of $1 million win

May 27, 2025 Posted by NC Lottery at 11:25 AM
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When Pamela Noel of Garner arrived in Raleigh on Friday to collect her scratch-off winnings, she had no idea her ticket held a $1 million top prize.

“I actually thought it was $2,000 until they told me when I got here,” she laughed. “I guess I missed something on the ticket.”

Noel said she could barely speak when she found out the true size of her win.

“It was mind blowing,” Noel said. “I am still in a daze.”

She bought her lucky $1,000,000 Cashword ticket from the Sheetz on N.C. 50 North in Garner.

After Noel found out how much she won, she had a decision to make. She could choose to receive the 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 $430,503.

“That is awesome,” she said when she received her big check.

Noel plans to use her winnings to pay bills and buy a Hyundai Genesis, her “dream car.”

The $1,000,000 Cashword game debuted in August with four top prizes of $1 million. Two $1 million prizes remain to be claimed.


7 COMMENTS

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5/28/2025 09:33 - Robert f.

Congratulations from Charlotte nice win l hope l will be next to hit the big money.

5/27/2025 09:11 - Joyce S.

Congratulations!

5/27/2025 09:11 - Joyce S.

Congratulations!

5/27/2025 04:18 - Charles H.

Yet another top prize ticket intentionally sent to Wake county. It wasn't Raleigh, but it's still Wake.NC Lottery
Hi, Charles! Anywhere there are more chances being taken to win - Wake County, for example - the odds will play out more often there over time. You'll have a larger volume of both winning and non-winning tickets in proportion with the odds. That has no effect on the likelihood of a particular ticket winning or not winning a prize, whether it be in a big city or a small town. It has to be that way in order for the lottery to be fair to everyone. Tickets are distributed randomly to retailers across the state as they are ordered, and there's no telling where a winning ticket will show up until a player scratches one off and comes in to claim.

5/27/2025 02:29 - Duane C.

Congratulations I’m next

5/27/2025 01:28 - Floyd P.

Congrats on the win. However, just another Wake County win of $100K plus. NCEL does a poor job distributing big winning tickets outside of Wake.NC Lottery
Hi there, Floyd! During the secure printing process, winning tickets are distributed at random throughout the entire printing run of each game. Then they're divided up into packs and the inventory is stored securely before being distributed to retailers by the lottery's sales staff. Where a winning ticket will show up is a mystery until a lucky player scratches one off.

5/27/2025 01:14 - Kimberly D.

Congratulations!!!

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