Married couple will finally get their honeymoon after wife hits NC lottery jackpot
A married couple didn’t go on a honeymoon — but now the wife has scored a jackpot prize in North Carolina.
The lucky lottery winner is set to take the special vacation with her husband, the N.C. Education Lottery said in a July 21 news release.
Shonda Harrell-Nichols, a Wake County resident, won the $527,797 prize after she played the lottery online. She spent $1 on a ticket for a recent drawing in the Cash 5 game, officials said.
When Harrell-Nichols checked her ticket numbers early July 18, she couldn’t believe her luck.
“I woke my husband up and was like, ‘Honey, I just won the Cash 5,’” she told the N.C. Education Lottery. “We were both in awe.”
It turns out, Harrell-Nichols’ ticket beat 1-in-962,598 odds to win big. She kept $376,056 after taxes, but reality hadn’t quite set in, according to lottery officials.
“It’s still surreal right now,” Harrell-Nichols said. “I don’t know how to react.”
Harrell-Nichols, who discussed traveling to Puerto Rico after her 2021 wedding, also said she plans to invest some of her prize money. She is from Wendell, a suburb east of Raleigh.
In the past year, hitting the jackpot also helped to make honeymoon dreams come true for couples in Iowa and Maryland, McClatchy News reported.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREWhen gambling is more than a game
Gambling is designed to be a source of entertainment.
If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website.
This story was originally published July 21, 2023 at 10:44 AM with the headline "Married couple will finally get their honeymoon after wife hits NC lottery jackpot."
