Torey Hicks of Winston-Salem described her $200,000 lottery win as “a blessing” that will give her the chance to help her mom just like her mother has helped her.

Hicks, a junior at Shaw University in Raleigh, said she planned to use her prize money to help her mother pay off her car and help her buy a home.

“I want to do something for her because she has always done for me,” Hicks said.

Hicks said she and her mother play lottery games together. The $5 Lucky 7 Bonus ticket was purchased at the Laxmi Food Mart on Reidsville Road in Walkertown. She said she didn’t believe the win until she used the lottery app on her smartphone to scan the ticket. Up came the message: “Claim at lottery headquarters.”

After federal and state withholdings, Hicks received $141,501. The game started this month with five top prizes of $200,000 and Hicks claimed the second one.

Ticket sales from instant games like Lucky 7 Bonus make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $650 million a year for education. For details on how $21.9 million in lottery funds made a difference in Forsyth County last year, click on the “Impact” section of the lottery’s website. https://www.nclottery.com.