Roommates Christy Merritt and Kenneth Sword of Efland say a $250,000 lottery prize will help make their musical and retirement dreams come true.

“I’ve wanted a new drum set for a long time,” Sword said. “I’ve been making music for 50 years. I’ve been in a band for 25 of those years playing blues music. I haven’t gotten a new drum set in at least 15.”

“I’m going to save for retirement,” said Merritt, who works at a local farm. “Other than that, I’m not sure. I definitely know I’m getting a pair of new jeans though.”

Their good luck happened Tuesday afternoon when Merritt stopped at the Efland Supermarket on U.S. 70 West in Efland and bought some Hit $500 scratch-off tickets.

“I dropped my truck off to get an oil change and got some scratch-off tickets while I waited,” Merritt said. “I got one for me and one for him.”

They scratched the tickets when Merritt got home.

“We didn’t win anything on the first ticket,” Merritt said. “When I started scratching mine I thought I’d only won $5. I was like, ‘Darn it.’ But then I kept scratching. When I saw what we won, I thought, ‘Oh my. We just won $250,000!’”

“When she showed me the ticket I was speechless,” said Sword, who owns his own cleaning company. “She told me, ‘Now don’t have a heart attack.’ I’m still in shock about the whole thing.”

They claimed the prize Wednesday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. They split the $250,000, and after required state and federal tax withholdings, they each took home $88,127.

“Woohoo! Now it feels real,” Merrit said when she got the check.

The $5 ticket launched in July with six top prizes of $250,000. Three top prizes remain.
Ticket sales from games like Hit $500 make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $650 million a year for education. For details on how lottery funds have made a difference in all of North Carolina’s 100 counties, click on the “Impact” section of the lottery’s website.