‘Stressful day’ turns into happy tears as woman comes home to lucky NC lottery ticket
A North Carolina woman was having a “long and stressful day” — then a lottery ticket turned it around.
Linda Benefiel said she came home from work one night and was surprised with a scratch-off ticket. She checked it and discovered it was worth six figures.
“My honey bought it for me,” Benefiel told the N.C. Education Lottery in an Oct. 5 news release. “He said for some reason that one stood out to him.”
After learning she hit the jackpot, Benefiel urged her partner to take a second glance at the ticket.
“He got so excited and said, ‘We won $200?’” she said in the news release. “I told him, ‘No, we won $200,000. Next thing I know we were both crying.”
The emotional moment came after Benefiel’s partner spent $5 on a ticket for the Lightning 7’s game. Officials said he played the game at the Chalybeate Store in Fuquay-Varina, roughly 20 miles southwest of downtown Raleigh.
After the ticket won the game’s top prize, the couple plans to finish their mortgage payments. Benefiel reportedly kept $142,501 after taxes.
“It was surreal and just overwhelming,” Benefiel told lottery officials. “We’re still in awe.”
It’s not the first time someone has burst into tears over a jackpot prize. Recently, “a whole bunch of people” started crying happy tears after a North Carolina woman shared the news that she was getting richer, 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 October 6, 2023 at 8:37 AM with the headline "‘Stressful day’ turns into happy tears as woman comes home to lucky NC lottery ticket."
