A Wilmington woman’s persistence pays off with a lottery win

WILMINGTON, NC (WNCT) — Persistence paid off for a Wilmington woman.

Natalie Carraway of Wilmington kept telling people she was going to win the top prize in the NC Education Lottery’s Hot 5 game. On Friday, her prediction came true when she discovered the $200,000 prize.

“I kept saying I was going to win $200,000,” she said. “I was adamant about it.”

Carraway, 46, bought her lucky ticket at the Circle K on Carolina Beach Road in Wilmington. She celebrated the win with her daughter in the store.

“I just looked at her and started jumping up and down,” she said. “And then I just started crying.”

Carraway said she knows the store manager because she lives nearby.

“He told me he wouldn’t want this to happen to anyone else,” she said.

Carraway stopped by lottery headquarters on Monday to claim her prize and took home $142,501 after mandatory state and federal taxes.

“It couldn’t have come at a better time,” Carraway said. “It’s such a blessing.”

She said she would use her winnings to pay some bills, renovate her house and buy a car.

The Hot 5 game debuted in July with five top prizes of $200,000 each. One $200,000 prize remains to be claimed.

Ticket sales from scratch allow the lottery to raise an average of $2.5 million per day for education. For details on how $11.5 million raised in the lottery made a difference in New Hanover County last year, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the Influence section.