Lucky number 23 wins big lottery prize for Gastonia woman

GASTONIA, N.C. — A woman from Gastonia got a big prize from a scratch-off ticket once she got to her lucky number.

Dawn Collis said she got a Jumbo Bucks lottery ticket over the Fourth of July weekend and started scratching the numbers. When it got to 23, she scratched it off and uncovered a $1 million prize.

“That’s our lucky number,” Collis said. “We were married on July 23.”

According to the North Carolina Education Lottery, Collis won the first $1 million prize from the Jumbo Bucks game, and there are still six more prizes left.

“I had always envisioned winning big,” Collis said. “It was still a little bit of shock and disbelief. It still feels a little bit surreal.”

According to the NC lottery, Collis could’ve taken $50,000 over 20 years or a lump sum of $600,000. She chose the lump sum and took home $427,503 after taxes.

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