'I think I cried all the way home': North Carolina woman wins 'life-changing' jackpot
Cynthia Neely (Credit: NC Education Lottery)
RALEIGH, N.C. - A North Carolina woman was brought to tears after realizing she won a $723,755 jackpot.
Cynthia Neely of Gold Hill said she bought her lucky Jackpot 7’s ticket on July 11 from the Kangaroo Express on East Main Street in Rockwell. The jackpot stood at $723,755, and Neely bought a $10 ticket.
She said she thought someone else had won the jackpot after seeing that it was starting over with a smaller amount.
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"When I got in the truck and saw my first ticket said the jackpot was back to $20,000, I thought, ‘Oh darn, somebody already won the jackpot,’" Neely said in a press release.
She realized she was the reason the jackpot was starting over after looking more closely at her ticket.
"I had to convince myself that I had the winning ticket," she laughed. "It is a life-changing amount of money."
"I think I cried all the way home," she continued.
After claiming her prize, Neely took home $515,678.
"I’m going to try to talk my husband into retiring soon," she added.
Neely said she plans to give some money to her church, invest, and take a trip with her husband.
"I’m going to try to talk my husband into retiring soon," she said.
This story was reported from Los Angeles.