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A North Carolina cashier followed her instincts to buy a lottery ticket and ended up scoring a six-figure prize.
Christina Montgomery, of Jacksonville, was on a break from her job as a cashier when she got the feeling that she needed to buy a lottery ticket. Following this thought, she purchased a $20 Premier Cash ticket from a lottery vending machine at the Food Lion on Gum Branch Road, according to a release from the NC Education Lottery.
"Something was just telling me to play it," said the 27-year-old Onslow County woman. "Things happen for a reason."
Her instincts proved to be right on target as she scratched the ticket to reveal her massive $100,000 prize.
"I was in shock," she said. "Reality is still hitting me right now."
Montgomery claimed her prize on Friday (April 22), bringing home a grand total of $71,016 after all state and federal tax withholdings. When asked what she plans to do with her new winnings, she told lottery officials she hopes to get a new car and set some funds aside to start a family. Until then, she's still trying to come to terms with the idea that she is officially a lottery winner.
"I'm still thinking it's a dream," she said.