Jessica Gatling of Raleigh tried her luck on a $5 scratch-off ticket and won a $200,000 prize.
Gatling bought her lucky Sapphire 7s ticket from the Colony Exxon on Six Forks Road in Raleigh. She claimed her prize Tuesday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $141,501.
The Sapphire 7s game launched in December with six top prizes of $200,000. Four $200,000 prizes remain to be claimed.
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.