On Saturday afternoon, Ruth Robinson of Fayetteville was out running errands when she won herself a $4 million lottery prize and some “peace of mind”.

“I was coming from the grocery store and I thought I’d get everything while I was out,” she said.

So, Robinson stopped at the Short Stop on Skibo Road in Fayetteville and bought a $4,000,000 Gold Rush ticket.

“I ran it up under the machine and the machine said you have to go to the lottery,” recalled Robinson. “So, I put it in my pocket book and I came home because I was numb.”

Robinson, a retired dietary manager at a rest home, claimed her prize Monday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh.

She had the option of taking the $4 million as an annuity of $200,000 a year for 20 years or a lump sum of $2.4 million. She chose the lump sum and, after required federal and state tax withholdings, took home $1,698,006.

Robinson plans to use her prize money to pay off some bills and “just nibble” on the rest. She says her big win will allow her to “have a little peace of mind.”

The $20 game launched in August with three top prizes of $4 million and six prizes of $100,000. One $4 million top prize and three $100,000 prizes remain to be won.

Ticket sales from scratch-offs it possible for the lottery to raise more than $725 million per year for education. For details on how $21.8 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Cumberland County in 2019, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.