Lottery winner took lucky NC ticket everywhere — ‘even to the bathroom and to sleep’
A North Carolina lottery winner kept her lucky ticket close — even taking it “to the bathroom and to sleep.”
“I couldn’t believe I won,” Sabrina Bottoms told the N.C. Education Lottery after the ticket scored her a $1 million prize.
Bottoms, who works in a warehouse, bought the winning ticket while completing her weekly routine. Each week, she plays the lottery and fills her tank with gas, lottery officials said Sept. 27 in a news release.
This time around, Bottoms stopped at Park N Shop in Conway, roughly 110 miles northeast of Raleigh. While at the Northampton County store, officials said she spent $10 on a scratch-off ticket for the Hamilton game.
Bottoms was in her car when she scratched off the ticket — and made a call to her cousin.
“I had to get someone else to check the ticket,” Bottoms said in the release.
After discovering she was a jackpot winner, she didn’t let the scratch-off go far.
“The ticket went everywhere I went,” Bottoms told lottery officials. “Even to the bathroom and to sleep.”
Bottoms eventually cashed in on the prize, the highest won in the Hamilton game. She took the money in a lump sum of $600,000, which totaled $426,063 after taxes.
Bottoms, a Northampton County resident, wants to put the extra cash toward a “dream home,” officials said.
Though Bottoms hit the jackpot while doing her regular routine, others have scored big while switching things up.
In June, officials said a North Carolina chef bought a winning ticket while visiting a different store than usual.
And in South Carolina, a man was stopping at a new store when he snagged a ticket worth $200,000, McClatchy News reported in January.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREWhen gambling is more than a game
Gambling is designed to be a source of entertainment.
If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website.
This story was originally published September 27, 2022 at 9:26 AM with the headline "Lottery winner took lucky NC ticket everywhere — ‘even to the bathroom and to sleep’."
