N.C. Woman Scores $2 Million Lottery Prize Months After $1 Million Win

Winning a $1 million lottery prize is typically seen as a once-in-a-lifetime achievement that most people will never see. However, one woman in North Carolina beat the odds of winning another even bigger prize months after scoring her first $1 million.

Kenya Sloan, of Shelby, was the lucky winner of a $1 million prize in August 2022 after purchasing a winning Carolina Jackpot ticket, according to a release from the NC Education Lottery. Just a couple months later in October, she purchased another lottery ticket to see if her luck would continue, picking up a Diamond Dazzler from the Esha Food Mart on South Lafayette Street. What she didn't expect was to double her previous prize and win $2 million.

"I was like, 'No way this happened again.' But it did," she said, adding, "I was just standing there in shock. I just feel blessed. That's all I can say."

Sloan shared the exciting news with her family, who also couldn't believe she got so lucky twice in as many months.

"I told some of my family members and they couldn't believe it either," she said.

Sloan claimed her prize at lottery headquarters on Thursday (January 5), where she had to choose between receiving her prize as an annuity of $100,000 over the course of 20 years or as a one time, lump sum payment of $1.2 million. In the end, she ultimately chose the latter, taking home a whopping $855,006 after all required state and federal tax withholdings.

When asked what she plans to do with her newest winnings, she told lottery officials she opens to follow her dreams of opening her own soul food restaurant. Her previous win back in August allowed her to buy some land and build a new home, which is now almost complete.