RALEIGH — Emily Praytor, of Lexington, won a $100,000 lottery prize on Saturday night after scratching off a MAX-A-MILLION ticket in the car, N.C. Education Lottery officials announced on Monday.
Praytor bought the lucky ticket from the Quality Mart on Cotton Grove Road in Lexington and scratched it while her husband drove, with her son in the backseat making a prediction about the winning number.
“He said, ‘I hope you win on number 55,’ and that was the winning number on my ticket,” Praytor recalled.
Praytor claimed her prize at the lottery headquarters on Monday, taking home $71,758 after state and federal tax withholdings.
She expressed disbelief at her win, saying, “I was like, ‘Did we really win this?’ I couldn’t believe it.”
Praytor, a mother of three boys, plans to use her winnings for home renovations and savings.
The MAX-A-MILLION game, which debuted in March, still has 19 $1 million prizes and eight $100,000 prizes remaining to be claimed.
With her unexpected windfall, Praytor looks forward to making improvements to her home and securing her family’s future.
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