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A woman in North Carolina is getting over the "trance" she was in after winning a huge lottery prize and is looking toward a nice vacation with her family.
Michelle McClure, of Waynesville, recently stopped by the Southeast Energy on South Main Street to pick up a $5 Gold Standard scratch-off ticket, according to a release from the NC Education Lottery. When she scratched the ticket to reveal she won the $200,000 prize, she couldn't believe her luck.
"I was sort of in a trance when I saw I won," she recalled.
McClure claimed her prize at lottery headquarters on Tuesday (June 22), taking home a grand total of $142,021 after all required state and federal tax withholdings.
When asked what she plans to do with her new winnings, she told lottery officials she wants to pay off her mortgage and treat her family to a fun summer trip to a water park in Tennessee.
"This really helps us out tremendously," she said. "It couldn't have happened at a better time."
Though winning the major prize is a great payoff, McClure has a more personal reason for playing the lottery.
"I'm helping my kids get their education and that's what matters to me," she said. "I can never lose if my money goes to my kids' education."