Veronica Burt of Raleigh said a quick stop for gas on her way home from work turned into a nice pick-me-up in the form of a $200,000 lottery prize.

On Saturday, Burt stopped at the Murphy USA on Apex Peakway in Apex after work and picked up the lucky $5 Ruby Mine 9X scratch-off. The winning ticket, serendipitously, was not her first choice.

“I was looking for another ticket,” said Burt, who works at an assisted living facility. “They didn’t have it, so I asked the clerk for another ticket. They didn’t have that one either, so I asked her, ‘What do you have?' I ended up getting one Spectacular Riches ticket and two Ruby Mine tickets.”

When she got home, she continued her tradition of playing the lottery with her father, handing him the two Ruby Mine 9X tickets to scratch.

“The next thing I knew I heard my name being called,” said Burt recalling the moment. “He screamed my name twice — real loud! He handed the ticket to me. I had to look and then I had to look again.”

Burt said she and her father were thrilled.

“We just started hugging,” said Burt.

Burt claimed her prize Wednesday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required federal and state tax withholdings, she took home $141,501. Burt said she is looking forward to paying some bills and saving some for retirement.

Ticket sales from scratch-off games make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $900 million per year for education. For details on how $62.8 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Wake County in 2020, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.