Alina Gonzalez of Dudley turned a $5 Mega Bucks scratch-off into a $200,000 top prize this week and walked out of lottery headquarters with roughly $144,021 after taxes. The big win has the Dudley resident shifting from daily errands to house hunting as she plans to put the money toward buying a home.
Gonzalez bought her lucky Mega Bucks ticket Thursday morning at Dudley Food Mart on Fox Drive, then headed to North Carolina Education Lottery headquarters in Raleigh later that day to claim the prize, according to the Goldsboro Daily News. "I’ve got this adrenaline running through my body," Gonzalez told the paper, adding, "I’m still a little shaky." After required state and federal withholdings, she took home $144,021 and said she plans to use the winnings to buy a house.
Ticket Details And Payout
The Mega Bucks $5 scratch-off carries a $200,000 top prize, according to the North Carolina Education Lottery game page, which lists prize counts and odds. Winners of larger instant prizes typically claim in person at lottery headquarters, and the final amount they pocket varies after required withholdings. The lottery updates prize counts for each game on its site so players can see how many top prizes are still up for grabs across the state.
Where The Money Goes
The state lottery reports that proceeds support education across North Carolina, and local coverage notes Wayne County has received more than $28 million in state lottery grant awards that helped build a new elementary school, as reported by the Goldsboro Daily News. For Gonzalez, the immediate focus is on finding a new place to live while she considers what to do with the rest of her winnings.
