For Lindsay Jackson of Raleigh, a family tradition of getting scratch-off tickets as stocking stuffers turned into a $100,000 gift on Christmas morning.

“I only play once a year at Christmas,” Jackson said. “My grandparents would get us scratch-off tickets for stocking stuffers, and now that I’m married, I carry on the tradition with my family.”

She got $50 worth of scratch-off tickets from the Kroger on Six Forks Road in Raleigh. She put some in her husband’s and parent’s stockings, and slipped a Mega Bucks ticket in her own.

“I was the last one to scratch my ticket,” Jackson said. “I thought I was reading it wrong at first. I kept thinking, ‘This can’t be right, I must be misunderstanding the rules of the game.’”

She had her whole family check the ticket just to make sure.

“It was an exciting morning,” Jackson said. “It felt fateful to win like that on Christmas.”

Jackson claimed her prize Wednesday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required state and federal tax withholdings, she took home $69,502. She says she’ll save the money to help pay for her children’s education.

Mega Bucks launched in August 2015. Five top prizes of $100,000 remain.
Ticket sales from games like Mega Bucks 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 Wake County, click on the “For Education” section of the lottery’s website.