Lottery player wins a prize so big, it kept her awake at night. ‘I tossed and turned’
A North Carolina mom won a jackpot prize so big, it kept her awake at night.
Arlene Williams said she couldn’t believe her luck when she learned her lottery ticket was worth $178,913.
“I had to look again and again,” Williams told the N.C. Education Lottery in an Oct. 1 news release. “Then I called my daughter to tell her.”
As Williams basked in the good news, she had trouble falling asleep.
“I tossed and turned that whole night,” Williams said.
Williams scored the six-figure windfall after she stopped at a convenience store in Roxboro, a roughly 55-mile drive northwest from Raleigh. While there, officials said she bought a $2 ticket for the Classic Bingo Fast Play game.
At the time, the total jackpot was $894,565. But due to game rules about the amount of money Williams spent on her ticket, she won 20% of the prize.
“I guess it was just the right place, right time,” she told lottery officials.
Williams, who lives in Roxboro, kept $127,923 after taxes. Now, she hopes to put her prize money toward student loan payments.
It’s not the first time a lottery winner’s sleep has been impacted. Another North Carolina player discovered he won “in the middle of the night,” then struggled to fall back asleep, McClatchy News reported in September.
This story was originally published October 2, 2024 at 11:46 AM with the headline "Lottery player wins a prize so big, it kept her awake at night. ‘I tossed and turned’."
