She thought a call about her jackpot win was fake. But the NC prize was the real deal

A North Carolina woman learned over the phone that she hit the jackpot — but was skeptical at first.

“I told my husband, ‘Who calls you to tell you that you won money? That can’t be real,’” Lorie Turner told the N.C. Education Lottery while laughing.

It turns out, the prize was no joke. Turner scored $146,052 in a second-chance drawing game.

“We were quite shocked,” the 56-year-old Ocean Isle Beach resident said in an Aug. 8 news release. “I couldn’t believe it.”

Now, the extra cash will help Turner transition into her next phase of life.

“We are coming up on retirement and we really want the house to be paid for before retirement, so this will put a huge dent in that,” Turner said in the release.

After the big prize, Turner also has plans to treat her friends. She’s part of a group that meets once a month to eat and play the new scratch-off games, officials said.

“She said she plans to invite the group to lunch to tell them all the news of her big win,” the N.C. Education Lottery wrote. “And she added that lunch would be on her.”

Turner scored the extra cash after entering a second-change drawing. The ticket that she submitted was chosen out of more than 16.8 million that vied for a Carolina Jackpot prize, officials said.

Turner scored the six-figure win and kept $103,711 after taxes. In addition to paying for lunch and her house, she said she hopes to get a rental home in Florida and invite her mom to visit.

Turner’s hometown of Ocean Isle Beach is in coastal Brunswick County and near the South Carolina border.

She’s not the first person to be left in disbelief over a North Carolina lottery win.

In July, officials said a paramedic was in denial after learning he was getting richer.

Also in North Carolina, a lottery player’s wife needed some convincing after he told her about his lucky ticket, McClatchy News reported in June.

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.

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