North Carolina Lottery Player Wins Big After Nearly Throwing Out Her Ticket

A lottery player in North Carolina got a bit extra luck when a glance at the lottery ticket she was about to throw away proved that it scored her a huge prize.

Jacqueline Leigh, of Roper, recently stopped by the Roper Food Mart on N.C. 32 to pick up a $5 Hot 5's scratch-off ticket. Thinking she didn't land a prize, she was about to toss the ticket in the trash when a second glance revealed that it was actually a winner, according to a release from the NC Education Lottery.

"I really was about to throw it away," she said. "But I went back and looked at it again and that's when I discovered it."

Not only did she simply win, she scored one of the recently-launched game's top prizes of $200,000.

"I was so excited. I think I shouted," she recalled. "I told my daughter and she said, 'Mom are you for real.'"

Leigh claimed her prize at lottery headquarters on Wednesday (October 5), taking home a grand total of $142,021 after all required state and federal tax withholding. When asked what she plans to do with her winnings, she told lottery officials she hopes to pay off her car as well as pay some bills.

"I've never won anything like this before," she said. "It's a blessing."

According to the state lottery, the Hot 5's game launched in July with five top prizes of $200,000. Following Leigh's win, three of those prizes remain to be claimed.