Lottery winner claims prize — and gets huge shock. ‘Is this really happening?'
A South Carolina woman knew her lottery ticket was a winner, but the prize amount came as a complete shock.
Betty Hill got a $1 million surprise Tuesday, May 27, when she claimed her winnings at lottery headquarters in Raleigh, the North Carolina Education Lottery said in a May 28 news release.
'I was like, 'Is this really happening to me,'' Hill told officials, laughing. 'I was surprised it was that large.'
She bought the $1,000,000 Loteria scratch-off game while visiting a Smokey Express station in Maggie Valley, where she also owns a timeshare, the lottery said.
'I stopped to buy the ticket at the station I always like to stop at,' she told the lottery.
Hill said she figured the prize was big after she scanned her ticket and was told to claim her payout at lottery headquarters, according to officials. However, she waited to find out just how much she'd won.
Hill beat odds of 1 in 1,224,945 to snag the game's top prize, according to the lottery's website. After the surprising windfall, she chose a lump sum payment of $600,000 and took home $430,503 after taxes, the lottery said.
'I've never won anything like this before,' Hill told officials.
A top prize worth $1 million remains up for grabs in the $1,000,000 Loteria scratch-off game, according to the North Carolina Education Lottery.
Hill didn't say how she plans to spend her winnings.
Maggie Valley is about a 280-mile drive west from downtown Raleigh.
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