Iredell Woman Wins $1 Million Playing Scratch-off

Scratch-off tickets are paying off for players, especially for an Iredell County woman who just won $1 million.  Stephanie Lowe of Mooresville took a chance on a $30 scratch-off ticket and won a $1 million prize. The price of those tickets might stop us because who wants to spend $30 on just a chance? But as in life, we automatically lose by not taking the shot. Lowe bought her lucky Millionaire Maker ticket from the Speed Mart on Hasty School Road in Thomasville. It's not if you'll win, but when you do win, you'll have to visit your assigned lottery office to claim your prize. Take your identification and always take good care of that ticket before arriving. Can you imagine misplacing the winning ticket and how that would feel?

After Lowe arrived at our lottery headquarters in Raleigh on Monday, she had a decision we'd all have to make. Either choosing to receive the prize as an annuity of $50,000 over 20 years or a lump sum of $600,000. She made the smart choice for her by taking the lump sum of $600,000 and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $429,009. Check out our North Carolina Education Lottery YouTube channel to see the reactions of winners. You'll even see the winner's reactions to smaller life-changing moments. For more details on how $11.1 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Iredell County last year, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section. The North Carolina Education Lottery always reminds us to play responsibly because it can be a little bit addictive to want something so badly, like becoming rich overnight.

What would you do if you won big in the lottery? I know the shock may surprise us all and put us in a daze for a second, but at some point, we've got to spend the money. So, what are we buying first? Well, let's start with finding a way to win the big prize first.

Lotto Edge is naming the top South Carolina lottery scratch-offs that you could play. Scratch-offs are some of the people's favorites to play throughout the years. Nice and quick and either you win or you don't but you find out pretty instantly. How do you pick which scratch-offs you play? Each scratch-off has its different odds of winning and it's good to know those odds to be able to help better your chances to win. Check out what Lotte Edge is naming as the top South Carolina lottery scratch-offs. Here are 6 out of the 10 that have the best overall odds of winning. Check out the full list here and see which other scratch-offs aren't listed below.

The 100X scratch-off is coming in at No. 6. The ticket costs about $1 each for you to be able to purchase to play. Your overall odds of winning are about 1 in 3.48. Not so bad, right? Win possibly $300,000 or more when playing this infamous scratch-off game in South Carolina. What would be the first thing you would purchase with that kind of grand prize?

Why not play King's Ransom up next? With King's Ransom, you have a possibility with a 1 in 3.47 odds of winning this lottery game. The ticket costs only $10 so talk about profit margin if you win big with this scratch off. Might as well give it a try.

Come on, $500,000 sounds like a good time! If you play the $500,000 Multiplier Money then you could really win big with this one. Only costing you $10 per ticket, you have the chance to win with a 1 in 3.44 odds of winning.

Coming in at No. 3 is another famous one that people love to play. The Mighty Jumbo Bucks scratch off is one of those ones that people love. Only $10 per ticket, you have the possibility to profit pretty BIG. You will have a 1 in 3.40 odds in winning this grand prize.

The prizes are getting bigger and the odds are getting better. Spend just $10 and you have the chance to be a million-dollar winner. Now, a million dollars can really do some crazy things to your life. With a 1 in 3.23 chance of winning, a million dollars could be yours!

Now, if you thought a million was a great time then what about $2 million? That's right, the Fastest Road to $2 million scratch off is the number one spot. With a 1 in 3.06 overall odds in winning, this could be the best chance for you to win big. It's the #1 scratch off for South Carolina.