Roanoke Rapids woman wins lottery jackpot

RALEIGH – Shirley Ross of Roanoke Rapids stopped at the Speedway by her house to get her usual morning coffee, sweetened her purchase with a Fast Play ticket, and won a $137,093 jackpot.

“I was so excited I didn’t know how to act,” she said in a press release from NC Education Lottery. “I just couldn’t believe it.”

Ross, 40, bought her lucky $10 50X The Cash ticket Wednesday morning from the Speedway on West 10th Street in Roanoke Rapids.

“I was just so happy I couldn’t wait to call my husband and tell him I won,” she said.

At the time of the purchase, the jackpot stood at $137,093. Since she bought a $10 ticket, Ross received 100% of the progressive jackpot. The odds of winning a Fast Play jackpot are 1 in 320,000.

When Ross initially scanned her ticket in the store, she saw a notification telling her to come to lottery headquarters.

“I was thinking I won maybe $500,” Ross said. “I had no idea I won the jackpot.”

Ross arrived at lottery headquarters Wednesday to collect her prize and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $97,682. She said she will put her winnings in savings.

Fast Play features an instantly growing jackpot that increases with every ticket sold until it is won. As of Thursday morning, the Fast Play jackpot stands at $33,000 and counting.

Ticket sales from draw games make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $2.5 million a day on average for education, the release reads. The state provided $89 million in grants, using money raised by the lottery, to help Halifax County build new schools.

For details on other ways Halifax County benefits from lottery funds, visit nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.