North Carolina Woman's Lucky Number Lands Her $1 Million Lottery Prize

A woman in North Carolina is celebrating a major lottery win that has a special connection to her marriage.

Dawn Collis, of Gastonia, recently stopped by the S&D Food Mart on East Garrison Boulevard where she picked up a $10 Jumbo Bucks ticket. According to a release from the NC Education Lottery, she and her husband often scratch off lottery tickets with their daughter and son-in-law.

"We like to all scratch together for entertainment," she said.

Collis got extra lucky with her latest ticket over the Fourth of July when she scratched off her lucky number to reveal a $1 million prize. The number has even more significance to her relationship with her husband as it marked their anniversary.

"It was the No. 23," she said. "That's our lucky number. We were married on July 23rd."

For the Gaston County woman, the win was a long time coming; though the reality of the prize is still sinking in.

"I had always envisioned winning big," she said. "It was still a little bit of shock and disbelief."

Collis claimed her prize at lottery headquarters on Friday (July 7) where she had to decide to collect her winnings as either an annuity of $50,000 over the course of 20 years or as a one time, lump sum payment of $600,000. In the end, she chose the latter, taking home a grand total of $427,503 after all required state and federal tax withholdings.

When asked what she plans to do with her prize, she told lottery officials she plans to save most of it but may still use some of the funds for a trip. For now though, she is still wrapping her head around the win.

"It still feels a bit surreal," she said.