A last minute decision to buy a lottery ticket helped Stephanie Israel, 39, become the lucky winner of just over half a million dollars in North Carolina.
Lottery officials reported that the woman, Guilford County resident, purchased a lottery ticket for the Carolina Cash 5 drawing online just four minutes before sales for that drawing closed.
“It was late at night, I was lying in bed and the spirit told me to go online and buy one, Israel told the North Carolina Education Lottery. “There were only four minutes left for the draw.”
The next morning, she woke up to an email saying that she was the winner of $501,444.
Israel said seeing the pre-tax earnings made her literally scream with excitement.
“When I walked in and saw it, I screamed for about 20 minutes,” she said, according to the report. “I think I scared my family a little bit.”
Israel decided to claim her prize in a single cash payment, so after taxes it raised $356,147 at lottery headquarters.
With that money, Israel says that she plans to invest in the future of her family, which is “full of entrepreneurs”. She said that she will start a business to guarantee the sustainability of all in the future.
“We are constantly thinking of new ideas for business,” she said. “Our guys already have a landscaping business,” she noted according to the North Carolina Education Lottery.
Just in February of this year, a retired teacher also won the lottery’s top prize of $110,000 after using a combination of his children’s birthdays as winning numbers.
Louis spent 40 years as an educator and said he enjoyed playing the lottery as it raised money for local schools.
How North Carolina Cash 5 is played
Carolina Cash 5 is North Carolina’s continuous jackpot game that hold a raffle every day of the week. For just $1, residents of this state have a chance to win jackpots that start at $100,000 and keep going until someone wins it all.
In addition, for $1 additional dollar, it is possible to add a Double Play, so the Cash 5 numbers will be entered into a second drawing for a chance to win additional prizes.
The game also allows the option to add EZ Match for another extra dollar. In this option you have the opportunity per play and it is possible to win up to $500 dollars instantly.