Teacher stops for lottery ticket after school — and hits NC jackpot. ‘Unreal’
A longtime teacher stopped for a lottery ticket after school — and hit the jackpot.
Victoria Washington had a lucky streak before she bought her latest Carolina Cash 5 ticket. It matched all five numbers picked in a drawing, scoring her the game’s top prize, the North Carolina Education Lottery said April 30 in a news release.
“I’ve had some success before but nothing like this,” Washington, who lives in Charlotte, told lottery officials. “I matched four balls two other times. That’s what made me think I could get all five one day.”
Washington won the $172,302 prize after a trip to Saturn Petroleums in Charlotte. A Google Street View search shows a gas station at the business’s address, McClatchy News reported.
While there, Washington spent $1 on a ticket for the April 24 drawing. She beat 1-in-962,598 odds to score the jackpot win.
“It was the most exciting feeling I’ve ever had,” Washington told lottery officials. “It was unreal.”
Washington rushed to tell her friend that she was getting richer.
“It was thrilling,” the lucky winner said in the release. “It still hasn’t sunk in yet.”
Washington, who has been teaching for more than 20 years, kept $123,627 after taxes. She plans to put her prize money toward a new car, officials said.
It’s not the first time a North Carolina teacher won a lottery prize worth celebrating. Another longtime educator was “ecstatic” about his $1 million windfall, McClatchy News reported in March.
This story was originally published May 1, 2025 at 9:21 AM with the headline "Teacher stops for lottery ticket after school — and hits NC jackpot. ‘Unreal’."
