Mom wins ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ NC lottery prize. But daughter doesn’t believe her
A mom scored a “once-in-a-lifetime” prize — but her daughter didn’t believe her.
“She didn’t think I was seeing it correctly,” Vickie Darrell told the North Carolina Education Lottery.
It turns out, Darrell’s $100,000 win was the real deal. And now, she plans to spend the prize money on her family.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” Darrell told lottery officials in an Aug. 11 news release. “It’s a blessing.”
Darrell won big after stopping at a Valero gas station in Dunn, a roughly 40-mile drive south from Raleigh. While there, she spent $30 on a ticket for the Supreme 7s scratch-off game.
Darrell called her daughter before she checked her ticket. The lucky winner started yelling when she realized how much it was worth.
“For this to happen while I was on the phone with her, I can’t even explain what this means to me,” Darrell told lottery officials. “I’m still trying to believe it.”
Darrell lives in Dunn, where she took home $71,758 after taxes.
“I always believed this would happen one day,” the prize winner said. “It was meant to be.”
It’s not the first time a big win has left a family member in disbelief. Another North Carolina lottery player’s wife wasn’t convinced that she was getting richer, McClatchy News reported Aug. 7.
This story was originally published August 12, 2025 at 9:39 AM with the headline "Mom wins ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ NC lottery prize. But daughter doesn’t believe her."
