North Carolina: Grandmother keeps pinching herself after winning $728,048 jackpot, lottery officials say

WXII 12

09 June 2024

North Carolina grandmother keeps pinching herself after winning $728,048 jackpot, lottery officials say

NORMANDY. GOOD MORNING AND THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. I’M STAR CONNOR HERE, JOINED BY MY TWIN, DYLAN BUTLER. WE ARE TWINS. THIS MORNING. WE ARE TWINS REPRESENTING CHAPEL HILL. YEAH, CAROLINA. GOOD DAY TO BE A TAR HEEL. THEY GOT THAT BIG WIN LAST NIGHT WHERE YOU WERE ASLEEP THOUGH, RIGHT? YOU SURE WAS. YEAH. WE WE CAN’T STAY UP AND WATCH THOSE LATE BASEBALL GAMES AND STUFF, BUT I CAN TELL YOU ABOUT THE FORECAST AND I CAN TELL YOU UNFORTUNATELY GOT SOME BAD NEWS THIS MORNING. IT’S GOING TO BE HOTTER AND MORE HUMID LATER THIS AFTERNOON. SO CERTAINLY THANKS FOR TUNING IN HERE. OF COURSE, IT’S IT’S IMPORTANT TO GET THIS INFORMATION WHEN WE’VE GOT THIS THESE CONDITIONS ON THE WAY. HIGH POINT UNIVERSITY A NICE START TO THE DAY. SOME HIGH CLOUDS OVERHEAD BUT YOU NOTICE IT’S MILDER OUTSIDE AND IT FEELS A BIT MORE HUMID AS WELL. IT’S 66 IN HIGH POINT RIGHT NOW. THAT DEW POINT APPROACHING 60 IN THE REST OF THE AREA. DEW POINT TEMPERATURES HAVE COME UP ABOUT FIVE DEGREES FROM WHERE THEY WERE AT YESTERDAY. DEW POINTS WERE IN THE 40S AND 50S YESTERDAY, AND NOW THEY’RE IN THE 60S LATER. THEY’LL BE APPROACHING 70. SO CERTAINLY SOME MORE HUMID AIR WORKING IN FROM THE WEST. JUST SOME CLOUDS OVERHEAD RIGHT NOW THERE IS A WEAKENING COMPLEX OF STORMS. BACK OFF TO THE WEST IN PARTS OF TENNESSEE THAT WILL BE MOVING THROUGH FAR SOUTHWESTERN NORTH CAROLINA OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS, BUT I ANTICIPATE MOST OF OUR AREA HERE IN THE TRIAD STAYING DRY FROM THIS EARLY BATCH OF SHOWERS AND STORMS HERE. THESE STORMS WON’T NECESSARILY REACH OUR AREA, BUT WE WILL SEE CLOUDS LATER ON. AND AS THIS FRONT ARRIVES THIS EVENING, WE COULD HAVE AN ISOLATED SHOWER OR STORM POP UP LATE IN THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING TIME ON SUNDAY. HERE YOU SEE FUTURECAST EAST AT ABOUT 30% CHANCE OF RAIN LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. AS THAT FRONT SWINGS THROUGH BEFORE WE BEGIN TO CLEAR UP OVERNIGHT AND INTO MONDAY. BUT FOR NOW, IT’S A PRETTY HOT AND HUMID SUMMERTIME DAY. BEST CHANCE OF RAIN LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING TIME. COULD HAVE SOME THUNDER IN THERE AS WELL. WARMING UP QUICKLY THIS MORNING INTO THE 80S. I’VE GOT A PREVIEW OF THE NICE WEATHER ON THE WAY TO START THE WORKWEEK HERE IN A FEW MINUTES. ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU DYLAN. TIME NOW IS 803 AND STILL NO ARRESTS HAVE BEEN MADE IN A DEADLY SHOOTING IN WINSTON-SALEM. POLICE RESPONDED TO NORTHAMPTON DRIVE AROUND 1 A.M. SATURDAY MORNING. OFFICERS ARRIVED TO FIND DARREN LAMONT, BARNES JUNIOR, WITH A GUNSHOT WOUND IN THE PARKING LOT OF ADAMS MARKET. EMS RUSHED THE 33 YEAR OLD TO THE HOSPITAL WHERE HE DIED FROM HIS INJURIES. DETECTIVES STILL DON’T HAVE ANY SUSPECTS IN A GROUP IN GREENSBORO. WILL BE WORKING TODAY TO FIND A MOTHER WHO’S BEEN MISSING FOR NEARLY SIX MONTHS, MARISSA CARMICHAEL WAS LAST SEEN AT THE EXXONMOBIL GAS STATION ON EAST MARKET STREET. BACK ON JANUARY 14TH. INVESTIGATORS SAY THEY HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY LEADS TO WHERE SHE MAY BE A GROUP IS WORKING TO BRING MARISSA HOME AND WILL BE GATHERING ON EAST MARKET STREET THIS MORNING. THEY’LL BE PASSING OUT FLIERS IN HOPES TO FINDING TIPS IN. A LOCAL POLICE WIDOW IS FIGHTING TO RECEIVE LINE OF DUTY DEATH BENEFITS FOR HER LATE HUSBAND, CHERYL MCDONNELL HAS AN APPEALS HEARING BEFORE THE FULL NORTH CAROLINA INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION ON JUNE 19TH. THAT’S THE STATE ORGANIZATION THAT OVERSEES THE WORKERS COMPENSATION ACT. A SINGLE COMMISSIONER WHO HEARD HER CASE IN FEBRUARY OF 2023 DENIED HER CLAIM. HER HER HUSBAND, WINSTON-SALEM POLICE SERGEANT MIKE MCDONNELL, DIED ON OCTOBER 21ST, 2021. ACCORDING TO HIS DEATH CERTIFICATE, COVID 19 WAS THE CAUSE MCDONNELL BELIEVES HE GOT THE VIRUS FROM A COLLEAGUE WHILE HE WAS WORKING THE CAROLINA CLASSIC FAIR. THE CITY OF WINSTON-SALEM ARGUES SHE CAN’T PROVE THAT HE GOT IT WHILE WORKING ON THE JOB. PLUS, HE WAS UNVACCINATED, SO HIS DEATH DOESN’T MEET THE DEFINITION OF WORKER’S COMP ACCIDENT. IN A STATEMENT TO WXII 12, MCDONNELL SAYS THAT THE INITIAL CLAIM DENIAL WAS DISAPPOINTING, ADDING, QUOTE, IT WOULD BE GOOD FOR MIKE’S SON TO HAVE AS MUCH OF A HAND UP AS HE CAN GET AFTER LOSING HIS FATHER. SOMETHING IN THERE ABOUT DENIAL OF EQUAL ACCESS TO JUSTICE JUST DOESN’T SEEM RIGHT. AND SERGEANT MCDONALD’S DEATH HAS BEEN CLASSIFIED AS LINE OF DUTY AT THE FEDERAL AND STATE LEVEL, ACCORDING TO THE NATIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS MEMORIAL FUND, COVID 19 WAS THE LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH AMONG POLICE OFFICERS BY FAR IN 2021, AND THIS WEEK IS THE NORTH CAROLINA SAFE WEEK OF ACTION. ATRIUM HEALTH, WAKE FOREST BAPTIST AND OTHER COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS TEAMED UP FOR A FREE EVENT IN WINSTON-SALEM YESTERDAY TO KEEP KIDS SAFE. LET’S TAKE A LOOK. I WANT TO MAKE SURE THEY’RE SAFE. THAT’S THE MESSAGE OF SATURDAY’S NC SAFE EVENT. ATRIUM HEALTH WAKE FOREST BAPTIST AND OTHER COMMUNITY MEMBERS HANDED OUT FREE GUN LOCKS, LIFE JACKETS AND EVEN BIKE HELMETS TO HELP KIDS STAY SAFE THIS SUMMER. I THINK IT’S GREAT, ESPECIALLY FOR HELMETS. I’M A BIG IF IT HAS WHEELS. WE’RE WEARING A HELMET TYPE OF MOM, SO I’M EXCITED TO SEE THAT THEY’RE GIVING A BUNCH OF HELMETS AWAY FOR FREE. ACCORDING TO THE NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY, FIREARMS ARE NOW THE LEADING CAUSE OF INJURY RELATED DEATH FOR CHILDREN AND TEENS IN OUR STATE. LOTS OF CHILDREN ARE BROUGHT IN EVERY YEAR. UM, ESPECIALLY YEAR ROUND. UNFORTUNATELY, WITH GUN VIOLENCE. AND WE HAVE A LOT OF CHILDREN WHO HAVE TO BE HOSPITALIZED AND HAVE SURGERY AND HAVE SOME VERY SCARY EVENTS FOR FAMILIES BECAUSE OF GUN VIOLENCE, A SAFE WAY TO STORE GUNS IS WITH A GUN LOCK. AND LUCKILY WE HAVE FREE GUN LOCKS HERE ALL THE TIME. YOU READ ABOUT KIDS HAVING ACCIDENTS, WHETHER IT’S IN WATER OR HEAD INJURIES OR GUN INJURIES OR WHATEVER, AND SO HAVING THE ACCESS TO HAVE THINGS TO HELP KEEP THEM SAFE IS JUST IMPORTANT. WE CAN, YOU KNOW, THROUGH THESE FREE GUN LOCKS, HELP AVOID ONE EVENT THAT WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO

North Carolina grandmother keeps pinching herself after winning $728,048 jackpot, lottery officials say

A Raleigh woman assumed she was dreaming after winning a $728,048 jackpot while playing a digital instant game, according to officials with the North Carolina Education lottery.Vickie Koch says she enjoys playing digital instant games at night before going to sleep as it relaxes her. As she's sitting in her living room playing Bison Bonanza, a digital instant game featuring a progressive jackpot that can be won at any time, she realized she hit the jackpot.Click the video player above to watch the latest headlines from WXII 12 News.Top Stories'Sextortion' crimes against teenage boys in North Carolina increasingCharlotte the stingray no longer pregnant, North Carolina aquarium will temporarily close1 killed following shooting in parking lot of Adams Market, Winston-Salem police sayGet the latest news stories of interest by clicking here"I kept pinching myself thinking I would wake up," she said. "I thought I was asleep, I really did."The $728,048 jackpot represents the second-biggest digital instant win since the lottery began offering digital instant games. Officials said Koch played a $2 ticket and won the top level 'Epic jackpot.' The odds of that win are 1 in 15.5 million."The first thing I was thinking was, 'What can I do to help my family,'" Koch said. "I want to use this to set up an education trust for my grandchildren's college."Koch claimed her prize at lottery headquarters and, after required federal and state tax withholdings, took home $520,555.Watch: NOWCAST streaming newscastsIn addition to helping her family, Koch said she wants to take a girl's trip to "somewhere tropical." In the Bison Bonanza digital instant game, a player can play from 50 cents to $30. After Koch won the jackpot, it restarted at $50,000 and is now over $112,000 as of Friday morning. Digital instant games are played exclusively online on the lottery's website or on the NC Lottery Official Mobile App. Twenty-two different games are available to play online. NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Watch NOWCAST TV | Local News | National | News We Love |TRENDING STORIESKeep up with the latest news and weather by downloading the WXII app here

RALEIGH, N.C. —

A Raleigh woman assumed she was dreaming after winning a $728,048 jackpot while playing a digital instant game, according to officials with the North Carolina Education lottery.

Vickie Koch says she enjoys playing digital instant games at night before going to sleep as it relaxes her. As she's sitting in her living room playing Bison Bonanza, a digital instant game featuring a progressive jackpot that can be won at any time, she realized she hit the jackpot.

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"I kept pinching myself thinking I would wake up," she said. "I thought I was asleep, I really did."

The $728,048 jackpot represents the second-biggest digital instant win since the lottery began offering digital instant games. Officials said Koch played a $2 ticket and won the top level 'Epic jackpot.' The odds of that win are 1 in 15.5 million.

"The first thing I was thinking was, 'What can I do to help my family,'" Koch said. "I want to use this to set up an education trust for my grandchildren's college."

Koch claimed her prize at lottery headquarters and, after required federal and state tax withholdings, took home $520,555.

In addition to helping her family, Koch said she wants to take a girl's trip to "somewhere tropical."

In the Bison Bonanza digital instant game, a player can play from 50 cents to $30. After Koch won the jackpot, it restarted at $50,000 and is now over $112,000 as of Friday morning.

Digital instant games are played exclusively online on the lottery's website or on the NC Lottery Official Mobile App. Twenty-two different games are available to play online.

Keep up with the latest news and weather by downloading the