New Hanover County mom wins $100,000 on Mother’s Day

May 15, 2026 Posted by NC Lottery at 3:26 PM

Jessica Sesera of Castle Hayne decided to celebrate Mother’s Day by trying her luck on a $30 scratch-off and she got rewarded with a $100,000 prize.

“I don’t usually buy tickets but it was Mother’s Day so I just went for it,” she recalled. “I’ve never played that one before.”

Sesera, a mother of one with another child on the way, bought her lucky Carolina Black Premier ticket from the Food Lion on Castle Hayne Road in Wilmington. She then took the ticket to her car to scratch.

“I was like, ‘There’s no way this is happening.’” Sesera laughed. “I didn’t believe it was real.”

She arrived at lottery headquarters Thursday to claim her prize and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $72,018.

Sesera plans to use her winnings to pay bills and buy a new car.

The Carolina Black Premier game debuted in July with three $4 million top prizes and six $100,000 prizes. Two $4 million prizes and three $100,000 prizes remain to be claimed.

17 COMMENTS

5/19/2026 06:11 - roberta n.

Great blessing for you and your family.

5/19/2026 12:39 - Sarah C.

Congratulations! Question for lottery Where was the $909,000 Cash 5 jackpot won It just says online play. Haven't seen a claim for this prize. This has happened several times.NC Lottery
Hi, Sarah! This winner hasn't come in to claim their prize yet, in which case we would release the full blog with their name and info. However, we can say that the jackpot was won through Online Play by a player in High Point, NC!

5/18/2026 05:50 - joanie m.

Happy Mother’s Day win Wow I didn’t know the state got 28 per cent considering it a state state game they brought to NC I can understand the lottery itself getting a percentage

5/18/2026 09:35 - Angela A.

@NCEL I am not sure what deck I am playing with, because just like Margaret I chased the Wheel of Fortune Jackpots all weekend and I see someone has just hit the Treasure Chest! I usually go off at 5-6K it was over 13k, because the system was holding out if you can control the daily game then you all can control this one too! Facts! What a BIG losing Weekend chasing a dream!

5/18/2026 06:09 - Darlene E.

PLEASE TAKE THE BOOMERANG OFF. GAME OVER!!!!!

5/18/2026 04:06 - Brian T.

@NCEL, it's good humor to read your responses for rationalizing your crooked, rigged systems. As the Federal minimum wage has stayed at $7.25 for almost 17 years, you've continued to escalate your digital instant and scratch off tickets up to $50. You imply that you're all for charity to education, a donating member of society. When in fact, you're a major contributor to downfall.

5/18/2026 03:38 - Robert f.

Congratulations enjoy your big win hope I will be next to win the top prize NC Lottery
Wishing you lots of luck, Robert!

5/18/2026 12:27 - Dameka W.

Time to take another break. NC lottery is the worst.

5/17/2026 09:52 - NC Lottery

@Margaret, when you play Digital Instants, your ticket is played against a "full deck" of all the possible outcomes. This means each purchase has the same chance to win every prize, including the Progressive Jackpot prize. The outcome of a play is determined once you click the Play button and the system randomly selects a ticket. Regardless of how many people are playing Digital Instants, the odds of winning are the same – it can just take a whole lot of luck to be a lucky winner!

5/16/2026 10:01 - Felicia L C.

Congratulations

5/16/2026 05:58 - Joseph H.

Congrats! Could be a lot better, if not for the disgraceful 28% take from the government.

5/16/2026 05:56 - Joseph H.

Glad you won; sorry to see you had to lose 28% for the taxes. You would think it would be better for a gov't program. That makes me kind of lose interest.

5/16/2026 05:11 - komal v.

Congratulations!!

5/16/2026 03:35 - Margaret G.

When the progressive gets high like the wheel of fortune is now people play hard trying to hit it. Get smart that all of this is controlled to a certain degree. Remember this game is not played by people in NC, other states are involved in the progressive games. So when it get high and due to the fact more people are playing with the hope of hitting and spending tons of money trying to make it happen. Therefore it’s suppose to be a random hit with it will be by that lucky person but that hit is controlled because millions of dollars are being racked in every day. Therefore it’s suppose is no reasons why these ransom jackpot are hit more regularly/ often if they are supposedly random with no interference. The lottery play games with the winning methods are then post if you have a problem with gambling get help.if people wise up and not chase these big progressive jackpots the you will begin to see them hit more frequently with prize money won which in my opinion is the fairest way to play the games.

5/15/2026 11:02 - Delease B.

I'm out I won't spend any more time trying to get the lucky rewards site to enter my tickets NC Lottery
Hi Delease, sorry to hear you are experiencing issues with entering your tickets. Our online play support team is best able to assist you. You can reach them by chat, email or phone at https://nclottery.com/Help

5/15/2026 03:51 - Nancy B.

Congratulations

5/15/2026 12:46 - Lizzette A.

Congrats what a Mother's day present. Enjoy your winnings.

New Hanover County mom wins $100,000 on Mother’s Day

May 15, 2026 Posted by NC Lottery at 3:26 PM

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