North Carolina woman wins $343k from $1 lottery game

Note: The accompanying video explains lottery odds in North Carolina.

PARKTON, N.C. (WNCN) — A North Carolina woman’s excitement kept her awake after turning $1 into hundreds of thousands of dollars, the North Carolina Education Lottery said Wednesday.

Lottery officials said Carletta Woodall, of Parkton in Robeson County, was about to go to bed Thursday night when she put $1 into a digital instant game.

They said the decision led her to a $343,099 jackpot win.

“I couldn’t sleep after that,” she laughed.

According to the N.C. Education Lottery, Woodall won the top prize of ‘Epic Jackpot’ in the Bison Bonanza game, which has a progressive jackpot that can be won at any time. The odds of doin so are one in 31 million.

“When the numbers kept going up, I was like, ‘No way,’” she said. “You can imagine how shocked I was.”

Woodall claimed her prize at lottery headquarters on Tuesday and took home $245,316 after required federal and state tax withholdings, according to lottery officials.

Woodall was asked what she wanted to do with her winnings.

“I’ve never been to Vegas so I want to take a trip there,” she said.

According to lottery officials, Woodall also said she plans to do some home repairs and share her winnings with her family.

The N.C. Education Lottery said Bison Bonanza’s jackpot restarted at $50,000 after Woodall won, and is now more than $159,000.

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