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A woman in North Carolina had a really good week, first buying her very first home and then just days later scoring a $1 million win in the state lottery.
Patricia Simmons, of Greensboro, recently closed on her first home and with that comes worries of monthly mortgage payments. Luckily for her, she purchased a $30 Millionaire Maker ticket from Fairway One Stop on South Elm Eugene Street that ended up winning her a major prize that can help her with the payments, according to a release from the NC Education Lottery.
"I just stared at it. It was unreal to see that," Simmons said, adding, "I've been in shock ever since. I'm just numb."
When she told her husband of the win, she said he didn't believe her and needed to look at the lucky ticket himself.
"He said, 'Tricia you're playing,'" she recalled. "He wanted to see the ticket."
Simmons claimed her prize at lottery headquarters on Monday (May 8) where she had the choice of accepting 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 and took home an impressive $427,509 after all required federal and state tax withholdings.