Woman was 'adamant' she would win top lottery prize - then pockets $200,000

01 February 2023 , 17:54

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Natalie Carraway was struggling to make ends meet and was six months behind in rent (Image: North Carolina Education Lottery/Newsflash)

A woman says she was "adamant" she would win a top lottery prize before pocketing $200,000 (£160,000).

Lucky Natalie Carraway, 46 - from Wilmington, North Carolina, US, had told most of her family and friends she was set to win the top lottery prize.

She told lottery officials: "I kept saying I was going to win the $200,000, I was adamant about it.”

Her prediction came true playing North Carolina Lottery's Hot 5’s game on January 27.

Natalie told how she celebrated the win with her daughter in the store where she bought the ticket.

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She said: "I just looked at her and started jumping up and down. And then I just started crying. This couldn’t have come at a better time. It is such a blessing."

Natalie bought her winning ticket at the Circle K on Carolina Beach Road in Wilmington, lottery officials said.

Natalie bought her winning ticket at the Circle K in Wilmington

Natalietold lottery officials she knows the store manager since she lives close by.

She said: "He told me he wouldn’t have wanted it to happen to anyone else."

She explained that, as a single mother, money had been tight recently and she lives with her children and hasn’t had heat or air conditioning since August.

Natalie said she was behind on her rent going back 6 months. She is on food stamps but still worries about being able to buy enough food.

She also worried that she couldn’t see her daughter, a freshman at Eugene Ashley High School, wrestle in the state playoffs this Friday in Greensboro because of her SUV’s oil leak and bad tires.

Now, she says she’s going to pay her debts, get her heat and car fixed and watch her daughter wrestle in the playoffs.

The North Carolina Lottery said in a statement: "Carraway stopped by lottery headquarters Monday to claim her prize and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $142,501."

Vassia Barba