Abilene Ramirez Navarro of Louisburg said she wants to open a tire shop for her father after a $5 scratch-off ticket pocketed her a $250,000 prize.

“This win is going to be really helpful for us,” Navarro said.

Navarro, a 26-year-old dental assistant, decided to make a quick stop to get a lottery ticket while on her way to the gym. She bought her lucky 20X The Cash ticket from Bailey’s Store on Zebulon Road in Wake Forest.

After buying her ticket, she went back to the car with her mother to scratch it.

“I was like, ‘Oh my God, is this true,’” Navarro said. “I couldn’t believe it.”

Navarro, still in disbelief, showed the winning ticket to her mother.

“We were not prepared for this at all,” Navarro said. “We’re just so happy.”

Navarro arrived at lottery headquarters on Monday to collect her prize and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $177,526.

She said her father currently works in construction, but she would like to help him open his own tire shop with her winnings.

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 $3.3 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Franklin County in 2021, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.