News writer
Who doesn't like a nice present for their birthday, right?
One lucky North Carolina woman is feeling extra special this year for her birthday, as she got an early birthday present, and it was a big one: $25,000 a year for life!
The early birthday present
Winston-Salem resident Irma Richardson was just weeks away from her 60th birthday when she went online and purchased a $2 Quick Pick ticket for the March 28 drawing of Lucky for Life. It turned out to be a great purchase, as she matched all five white balls to win the $25,000 a year prize.
For the March 28 drawing, the white balls were 9, 15, 29, 38, and 39, and the Lucky Ball was 16. The odds of matching all five white balls are 1 in 1.8 million.
Richardson told lottery officials:
This is a very nice early birthday present.
She purchased the winning ticket using Online Play, which she said she's “been doing it since it first came here.”
Shocked her husband
You never know how you are going to react when winning a big prize in the lottery, but Richardson definitely had a strong reaction. She said when she first opened her email and saw the big prize, her reaction was so strong that her husband thought something was wrong.
She told lottery officials, “I think he thought I saw something crawling on the ground or something,” she laughed. “He was like, 'What's wrong with you?'”
No, there was nothing crawling on the ground and nothing bad had happened, that is for sure!
Lump sum payment
On April 1, Richardson went to the lottery headquarters and claimed her big prize. She had the choice of receiving $25,000 a year for the rest of her life or a $390,000 lump sum payment.
Richardson opted for the $390,000 lump sum payment, which, after the required state and federal tax withholdings, worked out to be $278.851.
She said:
I'm only a few years from retirement so this is very nice to have. I'm just glad to be here.
With this big win, maybe retirement can come a little early for Irma!
Winning for education
While players get to enjoy the fun of playing the different lottery games, the North Carolina Lottery gets to enjoy raising more and more money for education in the state. Since the lottery started in 2006, the Lottery has raised more than $10 billion for education programs. For FY2023 alone, the Lottery raised over $1 billion.
The money raised helps support education programs in all of North Carolina's 100 counties. While this may only be a portion of the state's overall education budget, it definitely makes a big difference.
This money raised through the Lottery has been directed by legislators to support different education programs, including paying for the salaries of teachers and teacher assistants and digital learning initiatives.
Enjoy playing the North Carolina Lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.
