‘Unlucky’ day takes surprising turn with $2M prize for North Carolina jackpot winner
A North Carolina woman believed her lottery ticket was worthless — then a second glance revealed a $2 million prize.
“I scratched the whole ticket and I thought it wasn’t a winner,” Frederica Bridgers told the N.C. Education Lottery. “I glanced over it again though and then I saw the big two and I was stunned.”
It turns out, Bridgers hit the jackpot on an “unlucky” day — Friday the 13th.
“Nobody can ever tell me that it’s a bad luck day anymore,” Bridgers told lottery officials in a May 17 news release. “It’s lucky now.”
Bridgers scored the win after a stop at Tobacco Plus in Tarboro. While at the store roughly 70 miles east of Raleigh, officials said she spent $20 on a ticket for the Grand Money scratch-off game.
After first thinking she hadn’t won anything, Bridgers took her prize in a lump sum of $1.2 million. She reportedly kept $852,126 after taxes.
“Bridgers said she wants to set aside some of the money for her immediate family and possibly start her own business,” the N.C. Education Lottery said in its news release.
Some North Carolina lottery players aren’t strangers to having their luck take a turn.
In 2021, officials said a man ran into two deer before he won $2 million. More than a year earlier, a man whose home was ravaged by Hurricane Florence scored a big lottery prize, McClatchy News reported.
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MOREWhen gambling is more than a game
Gambling is designed to be a source of entertainment.
If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website.
This story was originally published May 18, 2022 at 8:58 AM with the headline "‘Unlucky’ day takes surprising turn with $2M prize for North Carolina jackpot winner."
