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LADY LUCK: Caldwell Co. woman wins lottery twice in one day

CALDWELL COUNTY, N.C. — Luck was on one Caldwell County woman’s side when she and her husband bought two winning lottery tickets in one day.

Michelle Shuffler and her husband bought the first ticket Sunday at the Cubbard Express on Beecher Anderson Road in Lenoir.

"We don't normally play the lottery," Shuffler said. "My husband just happened to have some cash in his pocket. At the last second, he decided to buy a ticket."

Shuffler scratched the Million Dollar Fever ticket and ended up winning $10,000.

"I was in complete disbelief," Shuffler said. "I still am."

Later that same night, Shuffler and her husband decided to get another scratch-off ticket.

"We saw that the game had a million-dollar prize," Shuffler said. "So, we decided, 'Why not try to beat the odds again?'"

The couple stopped at the Murphy Express on Hickory Boulevard in Granite Falls and bought a second Million Dollar Fever ticket.

She ended up beating the odds and won $1 million.

"It's quite astonishing," Shuffler said. "It's a miracle!"

Shuffler claimed both prizes Monday afternoon at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. For the $1 million prize, she had the choice of taking an annuity that has 20 payments of $50,000 a year or a lump sum of $600,000. She chose the annuity. She received her first payment of $50,000. After required state and federal tax withholdings, she took home $34,753.  She will get an additional payment each year for the next 19 years. Shuffler plans to use the money to save for retirement and add to her children's college funds.

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