Lenora Terrell of Charlotte didn’t expect to win when she bought her first Extreme Cash scratch-off, but good luck was on her side and she walked away the winner of a $100,000 prize.

Terrell, an IT worker, stopped at the Circle K on Mallard Creek Road in Charlotte and bought a single Extreme Cash ticket. For her, it was first time’s the charm.

“I bought it because it was a new game and I liked the colors,” said Terrell. “I didn’t expect to actually win.”

Her good fortune didn’t sink in right away.

“I was just sitting on the couch, next to my daughter who was taking a nap, and I was watching TV, scratching it and that’s when I stood up and was like, ‘This isn’t right, this can’t be right,’” recalled Terrell. “I’ve purchased other tickets thinking, ‘I’m going to win today,’ but this day, I wasn’t even there, I just wasn’t expecting it at all.”

Extreme Cash is the first scratch-off where the lowest prize available is more than the price of the ticket. Tickets cost $25 each and if someone wins a prize, they win at least $40.

“I saw the article online and I thought, ‘Okay, let’s try this one,’” said Terrell after seeing information on the Extreme Cash game on the lottery’s website.

While the state’s Stay At Home order remains in effect, the lottery lifted the requirement that winners of prizes of $100,000 or more claim their prize in person. After federal and state tax withholdings, Terrell took home $70,757.

She received her prize on Wednesday and plans to use her prize money to pay off some bills. Her five children couldn’t believe their mom’s luck.

Her lottery days aren’t over just yet, though. “You know what, when I play I expect to win,” said Terrell. “And I still have that Cash 5 jackpot to win. That’s on my itinerary.”

Extreme Cash launched in March with three top prizes of $1 million. Two $1 million prizes and eight $100,000 prizes remain to be claimed.

Ticket sales from scratch-off games make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $700 million per year for education. For details on how $59.5 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Mecklenburg County last year, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.