A lotto fan who thought she had won just USD 20 on a ticket has told how she started screaming when she realised she had actually scored USD 2 million.
Astonished Loretta Jones, from Maxton, in the US state of North Carolina, saw a cash sign flash up when she checked her Mega Cash scratchcard.
But she thought she had won back just the cost of her punt.
She said later: “I saw the dollar sign and thought, ‘Oh I won my USD 20 [GBP 16.28] back’.
“Then I looked at it again and I started screaming.”
Loretta added: “I fell to the floor. I had to ask my daughter if it was real.”
Now she is already planning her dream holiday.
Loretta said: “My dream vacation has always been Hawaii. I want to take that trip now.”
Newsflash obtained a statement from the North Carolina Education Lottery on 10th October, saying: “Loretta Jones of Maxton has always dreamed of going to Hawaii and now she can after winning a USD 2 million [GBP 1.63 million] scratch-off prize.”
Loretta bought her 100 Million Mega Cash ticket from Short Stop Mart on West Dr. MLK Jr. Drive in Maxton.
Lottery officials said: “When Jones arrived at lottery headquarters Monday to collect her prize, she had a decision to make. She could choose to receive the prize as an annuity of USD 100,000 [GBP 81,421] over 20 years or a lump sum of USD 1.2 million [GBP 977,052].
“She chose the lump-sum amount of USD 1.2 million and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home USD 855,006 [GBP 696,154.44].”
Loretta said: “You never think something like this will happen to you. I’m still in disbelief.”
She told lottery officials that as well as going to Hawaii, she will use her winnings to pay some bills.
