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A woman in North Carolina couldn't believe her luck when she recently won a big lottery prize, even going so far as thinking it was all a joke.
Sara Wilkerson, of Laurinburg, took home the grand prize during the final Holiday Spectacular second-chance drawing, with the 41-year-old nursing student winning big during the February 8 drawing, according to a release from the NC Education Lottery.
"I saw the email and I thought it was a joke," she recalled. "I had never really won anything before but I kept trying."
It's a good thing, too, that she kept trying as she ended up scoring the $150,000 prize. When she called her mom to share the news, even she couldn't believe it.
"She didn't believe me," Wilkerson said. "I was like, 'Mom this is legit.'"
Wilkerson claimed her prize at lottery headquarters on Friday (February 10), taking home a grand total of $106,875 after all required state and federal tax withholdings. When asked what she plans to do with her new winnings, she told lottery officials she plans to use some of the prize to pay for her nursing school and put the rest in savings.
"You never really think something like this could happen to you," she said. "But it happened."
According to lottery officials, there were 9.5 million entries in the February 8 second-chance drawing. Aside from Wilkerson's $150,000 win, there were two $10,000 prizes and 100 prizes of $500.