A lottery jackpot seldom comes when a play needs it the most, but it just happened for a high school teacher in North Carolina. Tonya Carter of Warrenton “rarely plays the lottery,” which only adds to the sheer coincidence that she needed money and won $1 million.

WARRENTON, N.C. (WNCN) — A rare lottery purchase led to a teacher in Warren County hitting a million dollar jackpot. Tonya Carter said she almost never plays the lottery, but bought a scratch-off ticket Thursday to help pay for an upcoming surgery.

The NC Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Saturday, July 5, 2025 results for each game: Winning Powerball numbers from July 5 drawing. 01-28-34-50-58 ...

Winning the lottery can send your heart racing, so John Watson may have gotten lucky twice when he won after having heart surgery. Watson took a chance on the 5 Times Lucky game that launched July 1, and he became the first person to win its top prize, according to the North Carolina Education Lottery.

A Powerball player just missed a $250 million jackpot — but is still set to get richer in North Carolina. The player bought a ticket that matched all but one number picked in the July 14 drawing, making it worth $50,000, according to the N.C. Education Lottery website.