Retired Greensboro educator Vickie Henry took a second chance on one of her lottery tickets and won a $150,000 prize.
Henry, a former biology teacher and assistant principal, said she would use some of her prize money to help families in need during the holidays and some to provide scholarships in one of her favorite programs, Top Teens of America. The rest, she said, would go to home improvements and savings.
“I think it’s very important to help other people when you can afford to,” Henry said as she collected her prize Thursday at lottery headquarters.
Henry won the top prize in the lottery’s first Holiday Luck second-chance drawing on Wednesday. She said she got an email notifying her of her win Wednesday night, but had a hard time believing it was true.
After federal and state tax withholdings, Henry received $106,125.
She said she likes second-chance drawings because they give her another chance at winning a prize. “It gives you hope that maybe you will win the second time,” she said. “Second chances are very important in life.”
The Holiday Luck second-chance drawings accept any of the five holiday scratch-offs, Holiday Luck X10, Holiday Luck X20, Holiday Luck X30, Holiday Luck X50, and Holiday Countdown as entries.
The deadline to enter the second drawing is Jan. 31 and the drawing is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 3. The drawing will award one $150,000 prize, five $10,000 prizes, and 50 $500 prizes.
Ticket sales from draw games make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $725 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.