North Carolina Woman's Last-Minute Decision Wins Her Huge Lottery Prize
By Sarah Tate
July 8, 2022
A woman in North Carolina felt like she stepped into a classic children's movie after a last-minute decision led to her scoring a huge win while shopping for a Fourth of July party.
Sandra Lopez Alvarado, a barber in Burlington, was at the Deep Grocery on Rauhut Street to pick up some snacks for a holiday party to celebrate America's birthday when she decided to also purchase a $30 Fabulous Fortunes scratch-off lottery ticket, according to a release from the NC Education Lottery.
"I wasn't going to buy a ticket at first," she said, before ultimately changing her mind. "I decided I was going to go for it."
Her plan to just "go for it" ended up being the right move as she ended up winning the $100,000 prize. Lopez Alvarado couldn't believe her sudden purchase won proved to be the "golden ticket" and won her the major prize, something that felt like a scene right out of a movie.
"What? I won the lottery," she recalled. "It felt like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!"
Lopez Alvarado claimed her prize at lottery headquarters on Thursday (July 7), taking home a grand total of $71,019 after all required state and federal tax withholdings. When asked what she plans to do with her new winnings, she told lottery officials she hopes to open up her own barber shop.