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A lucky lottery player in North Carolina is getting a head start on her birthday celebrations after a ticket she purchased landed her an impressive prize.
Irma Richardson, a Winston-Salem reside who is preparing to celebrate turning 60 in a few weeks, recently purchased a $2 Quick Pick ticket in the Lucky for Life game using Online Play, according to a release from the NC Education Lottery. Her lucky ticket ended up matching all five white balls to land the $25,000 a year for life prize, a feat that overcame the 1 in 1.8 million odds.
"This is a very nice early birthday present," she said.
While speaking to lottery officials, Richardson said her reaction to the email notifying her of the massive prize made her husband think something was wrong rather than the exciting news it truly was.
"I think he thought I saw something crawling on the ground or something," she recalled. "He was like, 'What's wrong with you?'"
Richardson claimed her prized on Monday (April 1), choosing between either getting her prize as the $25,000 a year for the rest of her life or as a lump sum payment of $390,000. She ended up picking the latter, taking home a grand total of $278,851 after all required state and federal tax withholdings. According to lottery officials, the prize will go toward, at least in part, her future retirement.
"I'm only a few years from retirement so this is very nice to have," she said. "I'm just glad to be here."