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A woman in North Carolina couldn't believe her luck when she scored a massive lottery prize mere weeks after her son had his own huge win.
Peggy Williams, of Greenville, recently accompanied her son, Randy, to Raleigh so he could collect his $518,774 Cash 5 jackpot prize for the June 14 drawing, according to a release from the NC Education Lottery. Just a few weeks later, Williams purchased a $10 Double Diamond Cashword ticket from the Food Lion on Easy Street in Greenville to try her own luck at the lottery — a move that landed her a prize nearly as much as the one her son claimed.
"I love to play the crosswords," she said. "Those are my favorite ones."
Williams' love of the crossword tickets scored her a $500,000 win from the scratch-off ticket, though she had to repeatedly check the ticket to make sure she what she saw was right.
"This is hard to believe," she said. "I went over it about 10 times to make sure I had it correct."
Even Randy can't believe the timing of his mother's win, saying that he "[feels] like we are blessed."
Williams, along with her son, claimed her prize at lottery headquarters on Tuesday (July 11), taking home $356,253 after all required state and federal tax withholdings. According to lottery officials, Randy had planned to use his winnings to buy his mom a new house but later decided to just renovate her current home instead. With Williams' win in hand, however, she said they may go with their first plan and get a new house.