‘Total shock': North Carolina woman plans to travel with $461,435 win

Cynthia Karcher, of Raleigh, said she has several places she wants to visit after winning $461,435, according to an NC Education Lottery news release.
'I would like to take a trip to Greenland, Australia and New Zealand,' she said.
North Carolina grandmother wins $1 million after buying scratch-off at convenience store: 'Really good thing for us'
Karcher played a $.50 ticket on May 4 and won the top level 'Epic' jackpot in the Wheel of Bonuses game, a digital instant game featuring a progressive jackpot that can be won at any time.
The odds of that win are 1 in 62 million.
'I was in total shock,' she said. 'I always had hope, but I never hoped for something like that.'
Karcher said the timing of the win works out great since she is now retired.
'This is just a lovely amount at this time in my life,' Karcher said.
She claimed her prize Friday at lottery headquarters.
After required federal and state tax withholdings, she took home $331,080.
In addition to traveling, Karcher plans to remodel her bathroom and put the rest in savings.
Watch lottery drawings on FOX8! Mega Millions airs at 11 p.m. on Tuesday and Friday. Powerball airs at 10:59 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. The NC Lottery airs at 11:22 p.m. every night.
You can also find the lottery results online on the FOX8 website.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Miami Herald

3 hours ago

• Miami Herald

Mega Millions player misses $302 million jackpot — but wins big in Washington

A Mega Millions player in Washington just missed the $302 million jackpot but won $3 million, lottery officials said. The ticket matched five winning numbers but not the Mega Ball with a 3x multiplier in the drawing Friday, June 20, lottery officials said. A ticket sold in New Jersey won $4 million and one sold in Georgia won $2 million in the drawing. Nobody won the grand prize, which rises to an estimated $326 million, with a cash option of approximately $145.7 million, for the next drawing Tuesday, June 24, the national Mega Millions site said. The winning numbers were 26, 49, 58, 61 and 63 with a Mega Ball of 9, Washington's Lottery said. Nearly 310,000 other tickets sold in the United States also won prizes ranging from $10 to $40,000 in the drawing, the lottery said. The Mega Millions jackpot was last hit April 18, when an Ohio player won the $112 million grand prize, lottery officials said. What to know about Mega Millions To score the jackpot in the Mega Millions, a player must match all five white balls and the gold Mega Ball. The odds of scoring a jackpot prize are 1 in 290,472,336. Tickets cost $5 and can be bought on the day of the drawing, but sales times vary by state. Drawings are held Tuesdays and Fridays at 11 p.m. ET and can be streamed online. Mega Millions is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Miami Herald

3 hours ago

• Miami Herald

Mega Millions player just misses $302 million jackpot — but wins big in Georgia

A Mega Millions player in Georgia just missed the $302 million jackpot but won $2 million, lottery officials said. The ticket matched five winning numbers but not the Mega Ball with a 2x multiplier in the drawing Friday, June 20, lottery officials said. A ticket sold in New Jersey won $4 million and one sold in Washington won $3 million in the drawing. Nobody won the grand prize, which rises to an estimated $326 million, with a cash option of approximately $145.7 million, for the next drawing Tuesday, June 24, the national Mega Millions site said. The winning numbers were 26, 49, 58, 61 and 63 with a Mega Ball of 9, the Georgia Lottery said. Nearly 310,000 other tickets sold in the United States also won prizes ranging from $10 to $40,000 in the drawing, the lottery said. The Mega Millions jackpot was last hit April 18, when an Ohio player won the $112 million grand prize, lottery officials said. What to know about Mega Millions To score the jackpot in the Mega Millions, a player must match all five white balls and the gold Mega Ball. The odds of scoring a jackpot prize are 1 in 290,472,336. Tickets cost $5 and can be bought on the day of the drawing, but sales times vary by state. Drawings are held Tuesdays and Fridays at 11 p.m. ET and can be streamed online. Mega Millions is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Miami Herald

3 hours ago

• Miami Herald

Powerball players win millions in prizes. Where in US were lucky tickets sold?

Powerball players in Minnesota and Tennessee won millions of dollars, just missing the $120 million jackpot, lottery officials say. The tickets matched five winning numbers but not the Powerball in the drawing Saturday, June 21, the national Powerball site said. The Minnesota ticket won $1 million, while the Tennessee ticket also hit the Power Play multiplier to win $2 million. Nobody won the grand prize, which rises to an estimated $128 million, with a cash value of about $57.6 million, for the next drawing Monday, June 23, the site said. The winning numbers were 3, 16, 32, 52 and 62, with a Powerball of 24. The Power Play multiplier was 3x. More than 435,000 other Powerball tickets sold in the United States also won prizes ranging from $4 to $150,000, the lottery said. The Powerball jackpot was last won May 31, when a California player hit the $204.5 million grand prize. What to know about Powerball To score a jackpot in the Powerball, a player must match all five white balls and the red Powerball. The odds of scoring the jackpot prize are 1 in 292,201,338. Tickets can be bought on the day of the drawing, but sales times and price vary by state. Drawings are broadcast Saturdays, Mondays and Wednesdays at 10:59 p.m. ET and can be streamed online. Powerball is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.