When her preferred ticket was sold out, new Durham resident Joanne Pacheco tried her luck on a “7” ticket and was surprised with a $200,000 top prize.

Over the weekend, Pacheco purchased her winning $5 ticket from Lakeland St. Mini Mart on Lakeland Street in Durham.

“They didn’t have my tickets,” she recalled. “So, I said, ‘Just give me four of those.'”

Back at her new home, Pacheco scratched her tickets.

“I was sitting on my bed, thinking I can’t believe this is real,” she said of realizing her win.

Pacheco claimed her prize Wednesday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required federal and state tax withholdings, she took home $141,501.

After facing some health problems, she chose to move from New Hampshire to North Carolina to be closer to her son.

“I’m gonna live happily for the rest of my life,” she said. “That’s all that matters to me.”

The “7” game launched in May with six top prizes of $200,000. Two top prizes remain to be won.

Ticket sales from scratch-offs like “7” make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $725 million per year for education. For details on how $12.8 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Durham County in 2020, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.