A chilly evening warmed up for Mikelle Reid of Morganton after she won $250,000 playing the $250,000 Fortune scratch-off game.

“I was feeling cold so I didn’t want to go outside,” Reid said. “But I decided to stop and get a ticket anyway.”

When the fast food worker found out she won $250,000, she quickly felt a change in temperature. “I was ready to take my sweater off,” She said. “ I was like, ‘Get me some flip flops, I’m not cold anymore.’”

She claimed her prize Tuesday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required state and federal tax withholdings, she took home $173,126. She plans to use some of the money to get a manicure and pedicure on her birthday in January.

She bought the $5 ticket at the Fast Stop on U.S. 70 in Valdese.
Reid won the last of five $250,000 prizes. The lottery will begin steps to end the game.

Ticket sales from games like $250,000 Fortune made it possible for the lottery to raise more than $634 million for the state last year. For details on how lottery funds have made a difference in Burke County, click on the “For Education” section of the lottery’s website.