A North Carolina nurse who works in the COVID-19 unit at a long-term care facility just hit a $1 million jackpot.
Terri Watkins didn’t believe she’d actually won the North Carolina Education Lottery’s Supreme Riches second-chance drawing last week — but she did.
“I thought that it was a scam. I was a little upset actually!” she said in a press release.
“I thought that it was not real, couldn’t be real,” Watkins added. “It’s still something that I really don’t believe, I’m still in some shock here.”
Her entry was chosen from over 513,000 in the drawing on Wednesday, and she claimed her prize Thursday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh, the release said.
The healthcare worker said she was “thankful” for the money — especially after her grueling work at the nursing home during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Just seeing some of the things that I’ve had to see, I am very thankful,” she said.
“I had been praying for something to help me with this situation. It really is a great thing. I’m very blessed.”
She had the option to take home the $1 million prize in the form of yearly payments of $50,000, but chose the lump sum of $600,000 instead, leaving her with $424,500 after taxes.
Watkins said she’s not quite sure what she’ll do with the cash infusion, but noted she “would love a new home.”
“I’m just gonna take it slow and easy and figure out what I’m gonna do,” she said.
.