Jamie Collins of Spring Hope tried her luck on a new Carolina Panthers scratch-off ticket and found herself the first winner of a $200,000 top prize.
Collins bought her $5 ticket at The Store on U.S. 401 South in Louisburg. She claimed her prize at lottery headquarters on Friday. After state and federal tax withholdings she took home $141,501.
The Carolina Panthers game launched in July with four top prizes of $200,000. Three top prizes remain to be won.
Carolina Panthers fans can also enter into three second-chance drawings designed for the biggest fans. The first second-chance drawing, scheduled for Aug. 5, will award one grand prize of an “Inner Circle” trip to the 2021 NFL Draft. The two other drawings will award a grand prize that includes season tickets for home games in the 2021 season and membership in the Panthers’ Fifty 3 Club. The draw deadline for the first of three drawings is July 31.
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 $15.1 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Nash County last year, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.