(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
(DURHAM, N.C.) Terri Watkins, a Durham nurse working in a COVID-19 unit at a long-term care facility, couldn't believe it when the North Carolina Education Lottery called her and told her she won $1 million in a second-chance lottery drawing.
Watkins said, “I thought that it was a scam. I was a little upset actually!” She added, "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."
According to a release from the lotto on Monday, her entry was chosen from over 513,000 entries in the last of four second-chance drawings for the $300,000,000 Supreme Riches instant scratch-off ticket game.
Watkins expressed gratitude for her luck, given her first-hand exposure to the pandemic.
She 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 elected to take the $1 million prize in a lump sum of $600,000 and collected the prize Thursday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After taxes, she took home $424,500.
"I’m just gonna take it slow and easy and figure out what I’m gonna do,” said Watkins. “I would love a new home, but I’ve just got to take time and put it in the right place."