Visit to hair salon ends with Charlotte woman winning $1 million in NC lottery

One of Charlotte’s two mystery $1 million lottery winners has come forward, after learning she was rich at a local salon.

Timiaya Ellison says she was getting her hair done at the time, and went “through the roof” after realizing her numbers matched all five balls in the Cash 5 contest, N.C. Education Lottery officials said in a release.

Ellison is one of two people who had the same winning numbers this week, and will split the $2.1 million jackpot. The other winner is still unknown, officials said.

Both paid $1 each for their tickets.

“When I found out, I thought I had won half of the amount I did,” Ellison said in a news release.

“I was getting my hair done yesterday and I said: ‘Oh, let me check my lotto and see if I can use any of it for some gas.’ I was looking at it, just standing there like O-M-G, and misread it because I was so flustered!”

Her winnings after the split came to $1,054,439.

She claimed her money Thursday at the lottery’s headquarters and got $746,016 after state and federal taxes were withheld, lottery officials said.

Ellison beat odds of 1 in 962,598, officials said.

Ellison did not say how she intends to spend the money. She bought the ticket at a Circle K convenience store on University Boulevard in north Charlotte. The other winning ticket was also sold at a Circle K, but on John J. Delaney Drive in the Ballantyne area of south Charlotte, officials said.

Winners have 180 days to claim their money, before the cash is absorbed back into the game.

The double win marks the first time the Cash 5 jackpot has topped $2 million in North Carolina, the lottery says.