DURHAM, N.C. (NEXSTAR/WGHP) — Terri Watkins couldn’t believe her ears when she heard she had won $1 million in the North Carolina lottery, according to a news release.
“I thought that it was a scam. I was a little upset actually!” the Durham nurse said of the phone call she received. “I thought that it was not real, couldn’t be real. It’s still something that I really don’t believe, I’m still in some shock here.”
Watkins won in the final $300,000,000 Supreme Riches second-chance drawing on Wednesday, according to the North Carolina Education Lottery.
Winners of second-chance drawings get a phone call or email letting them know they’ve won.
“I’m a nurse, and I work in the COVID unit at a long-term care facility,” Watkins said. “Just seeing some of the things that I’ve had to see, I am very thankful. I had been praying for something to help me with this situation. It really is a great thing. I’m very blessed.”
Watkins claimed her prize Thursday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina.
She chose the lump sum of $600,000 over the option of an annuity of 20 payments of $50,000 a year. She took home $424,500 after state and federal tax withholdings.
“I’m just going to take it slow and easy and figure out what I’m going to do,” she said. “I would love a new home, but I’ve just got to take time and put it in the right place.”