A North Carolina woman is still in shock after hitting a $4 Million jackpot with a $20 scratch-off ticket. Cheryl Ratliff, of Wingate, had started her day off as usual at work, but the day quickly turned from typical to extraordinary.
"I got to work and I scratched it off and my eyes went completely cuckoo," Ratliff said as she claimed her prize at the lottery headquarters in Raleigh. "I thought I was seeing things."
Ratliff purchased her winning ticket from Claws on North Charlotte Avenue in Monroe, scoring the last of the three top prizes for $10,000 Loaded and beating the odds of 1 in 3.07 million. State lottery officials said that now the final $4 million prize has been won, they will take steps to end the popular game that launched in October 2019.
"I literally went outside and called my husband, called my kids," she said. "I was crying, I didn't believe I won that much money."
While some lottery winners choose to take the one-time lump sum payment, Ratliff went with the annuity of $200,000 each year for 20 years. On Friday (January 29), she claimed her first payment of $141,506, after taxes.
"It's a blessing to see that dream come true that one day you'd hit it like that," she said. "I can see my kids having more things in life and helping them through college."
Ratliff isn't the only recent North Carolinian to score big in the lottery. Last month, Anthony Dowe of Leland won $2 million in the highly-anticipated Mega Millions lottery.
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