A COVID-19 nurse at a long-term care facility in North Carolina has won a USD 1 million prize in the state lottery.
Terri Watkins from Durham, North Carolina, received a call informing her that she had won the million-dollar prize on January 13, 2021, and her initial reaction to winning was complete disbelief.
“I thought that it was a scam. I was a little upset actually. I thought that it was not real, couldn’t be real.” she recalled laughing.
Watkins, a nurse who works in the COVID unit of a long-term care facility in Durham, had a one in more than 513,000 chance in the final USD 300,000,000 Supreme Riches drawing on Wednesday.
When asked about what her plans are following her improbably win, Watkins wasted no time coming up with ideas.
Watkins made the decision to take a lump sum of USD 600,000 — USD 424,500 after required state and federal tax withholdings.
She had the option to take the USD 1 million prize as an annuity of 20 payments of USD 50,000 a year or a lump sum of USD 600,000.
She chose the lump sum and took home USD 424,500 after required state and federal tax withholdings. She claimed her prize Thursday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh.
