A North Carolina house cleaner who bet just $10 on an online lottery game has won a six-figure jackpot, describing the windfall as a 'blessing'. Chelsea Carter, 40, from Ocean Isle Beach, took home $626,543 after playing the Monopoly Digital Instants game from the North Carolina Education Lottery.
Ms Carter, who works as a house cleaner, said the win came on her 40th birthday. 'Today is my 40th birthday. This is the best birthday present ever,' she said in a TikTok video posted by the lottery. She became emotional when handed the cheque, adding: 'I am just an everyday person. Everyday people can win something like this, and we did.'
The odds of winning the jackpot in the Monopoly Digital Instants game are one in 50 million. The game's current grand prize stands at more than $445,000. The North Carolina Education Lottery, established in 2005, allocates its net profits to education expenses, including pre-K programmes and college scholarships. By 2016, it had raised more than $4.6 billion for education.
Financial advisor Rob Wilson, who spoke to CBS News Philadelphia after a recent $1.8 billion Powerball jackpot, advised winners to protect their anonymity. 'The biggest thing that you should not do is go and start bragging about your win,' he said. 'I would tell your spouse, your accountant and your attorney, that's it.' North Carolina typically does not allow winners to remain anonymous.
