North Carolina College Student Buys First Lotto Ticket, Wins $100,000 Prize

A college student in North Carolina recently celebrated her birthday by purchasing her very first lottery ticket. In a major case of beginner's luck, she ended up winning the $100,000 prize.

Laniah Ashley, a student at UNC Wilmington, celebrated turning 19 this week by having dinner with her grandparents, according to a release from the NC Education Lottery. After dinner, she purchased a $20 100X The Cash scratch-off ticket from the Han-Dee Hugo's on Southeast Boulevard in Clinton, a move which proved to work out in her favor.

"It was my first time ever buying a ticket," she told lottery officials. "I thought the colors on the ticket looked pretty so I chose that one."

She didn't scratch the ticket until she was back at her grandparents' house, but when she did, she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"I kept looking at the numbers and reading the rules over and over again. I was too stunned to speak," she said, adding, "At first I kept it to myself because I didn't want to sound crazy. I was too excited to believe it was true."

Ashley claimed her prize at lottery headquarters on Thursday, bringing home a grand total of $71,106 after state and federal taxes. So what does she plan to do with her new winnings? As a college student hoping to attend medical school, she plans to use some of the prize to pay for school; however she told lottery officials she also wants to help her grandparents.