Craven County woman enjoys $400,000 scratch-off win

February 19, 2026 Posted by NC Lottery at 8:13 AM

Jennifer Notarnicola of Ernul took a chance on a $5 scratch-off and won a $400,000 top prize.

Notarnicola bought her lucky $400,000 Jackpot ticket from Pops on U.S. 17 North in Ernul.

She arrived at lottery headquarters Wednesday to collect her prize and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $288,041.

The $400,000 Jackpot game debuted in April 2024 with five $400,000 top prizes. Three $400,000 prizes remain to be claimed.

Craven County has received state grants totaling over $15 million from monies raised by the lottery to help build a new middle school. For details on other ways money raised by the lottery made a difference in Craven County, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.

11 COMMENTS

2/20/2026 07:41 - Floyd P.

I agree with Angela's comments below. Requiring deposits all the time to get "free" or "boosted" spins is a fraudulent joke. Occasionally, I would do that, not anymore. About 3 weeks ago, I played and got 10 boosted games - got .05 total! A total ripoff!! Meantime, you have all these games with $150K top prizes, but you NEVER see anyone winning them. Progressive games..yes, but not the regular games. People play them, NCEL doesn't pay out on a regular schedule. Still glad to see someone win a big 100K plus prize that's not in Wake county where most of them occur.

2/19/2026 10:48 - Angela P.

Congratulations Jennifer you did it happy for you

2/19/2026 08:09 - carolyn b.

WTG NICE WIN.....THATS MY FAVORITE 5.00 GAME....THE MOST IVE WON ON IT IS 100.00

2/19/2026 05:04 - komal v.

Congratulations!!

2/19/2026 04:57 - Steven B.

wow! what a windfall,blessings all around.

2/19/2026 12:27 - Diane K.

Go girl!

2/19/2026 09:59 - Angela A.

Also @NCEL you all have got to step up your promotion game....You all always want someone to deposit money to get some free spins...VA not the case"Brace yourself for a brilliant bonanza! Log in today to get 10 free games of Bonus Showdown Bonanza!*" Just for logging into my account! You all control the games results anyway, so why not make us feel like we are getting something.NC Lottery
Thank you for sharing this feedback with us, Angela! We're always looking for ways to improve play for our players, and we'll pass this along to the folks in charge of those decisions.

2/19/2026 09:51 - Angela A.

Congrats! This is a ticket that someone else just had commented about, because it still had 3-4 top prizes remaining and what do you know one pops up LOL! I try the same practices looking at remaining prizes and focus on those ticket, but never worked out for me....I wish NCEL would include if the ticket is out of stock in Raleigh then we would know it is in play otherwise them top prizes could be just sitting on a shelf.

2/19/2026 09:38 - Robert f.

Congratulations enjoy your big win!!!!!!

2/19/2026 09:18 - Karen M.

Congratulations!

2/19/2026 08:18 - sharon h.

Awesome ????

Craven County woman enjoys $400,000 scratch-off win

February 19, 2026 Posted by NC Lottery at 8:13 AM

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