Lottery player won ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ prize online. She checked win ‘over and over’
A lottery player scored an “epic jackpot” prize online — and she couldn’t believe her luck.
“I just kept logging back in over and over again to see if it was still there,” Carrie White told the North Carolina Education Lottery. “That’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing.”
White won $717,538 after she tried her luck on the Bison Bonanza game. The online game offers tickets starting at 50 cents, and players have to match digital icons to hit the jackpot, McClatchy News reported.
White, who lives in Raleigh, was on her couch when she learned her $2 ticket was worth much more. She shed “tears of joy” over the big win, lottery officials wrote in a Feb. 18 news release.
“I cried,” the prize winner said. “I just couldn’t believe it.”
White beat 1-in-15.5 million odds to score the progressive jackpot game’s top prize. She kept $514,835 after taxes and plans to use the extra cash to pay for a new house.
It’s not the first time a lottery player has had a burst of emotion. Another North Carolina winner was tearful when she told her mom she was getting richer, McClatchy News reported in 2023.
This story was originally published February 19, 2025 at 9:29 AM with the headline "Lottery player won ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ prize online. She checked win ‘over and over’."
