Lottopia News
A common adage is that mother always knows best. Now Shelby Tripp of North Carolina is $4 million richer, and she has her mother’s intuition to thank for it.
Shelby admitted she doesn’t always listen to her mother. She’s thanking her lucky stars she took her latest advice though. According to the young winner, her mother purchased a winning lottery ticket worth $500 on Halloween. She called Shelby to share the exciting news.
“She said she had a lucky feeling and I needed to buy a lottery ticket,” Tripp said. “I don’t always listen to her, but this time I did.”
Tripp lives in Stokes in Pitt County, 6 miles northeast of Greenville at the coast. She bought her the winning ticket at the Speedway on South Memorial Drive. The $150 Million Cash Explosion scratcher has odds of 1 in 2.7 million.
“I didn’t even scratch the ticket until I was ready to go to bed,” Tripp told officials at the lottery headquarters in Raleigh. “I put it on the kitchen counter, cleaned up the house and did some other chores.”
“When I saw the $4 million, I couldn’t believe it,” Tripp said. She was in such disbelief that she had to ask her mother to take a second look at it.
“I had my mom come over to see if I was reading it right,” Tripp said, according to the news release. “When she said I was, I ran around the house pacing and screaming for at least 30 minutes.”
Tripp had a choice between taking a $4 million annuity with 20 payments of $200,000 a year, or a $2.4 million lump sum. She chose the $2.4 million, lottery officials said.
After required state and federal tax withholdings, she took home nearly $1.7 million, according to the lottery’s news release.
Tripp told lottery officials that she plans to use her newfound wealth to redecorate her mother’s house.
“She’s worked so hard her whole life. I just want to do something nice for her. I’ll pay off her house and then make sure she has her house redecorated the way she’s always dreamed.”
The $20 game began in October. Tripp is the first winner of its top $4 million prize.