North Carolina Woman Finds Million Dollar Lottery Ticket Under The Mattress

Okay, so let me be completely honest and transparent here. Yes, Charlotte's Arely Mayorga Martinez DID FIND a million-dollar winning lottery ticket under the mattress. And that's because THAT'S WHERE SHE PUT IT for safekeeping.

Martinez's husband picked up a $10 scratch-off North Carolina Education Lottery ticket ("Multiplier Mania") at the Shopton Commons BP on Steele Creek Road. Now here's where the story gets interesting to me. I treat a lottery ticket like a wrapped present. I can't wait to open it. The gift's pretty paper gets ripped open immediately. Likewise, once I purchase a ticket, when I get to the car, it's scratch time. No, no. Mr. Martinez waited until he got home. He sat at the kitchen table and scratched away. Arely couldn't believe what she was seeing from her husband's ticket. There it was, $1 million! So, what did she do? Quoted by the lottery, “We hid it under our mattress," How GREAT is this?! I wouldn't be able to let it out of my sight until I made it to the lottery headquarters for redemption.

Alright, so now comes to my favorite part of any and all lottery stories. What's the winning ticket REALLY worth? Arely Mayorga Martinez strolled into the North Carolina Lottery Headquarters last Thursday. And, as all lottery winners can attest, she had a big decision to make. Martinez could choose to receive the prize as an annuity of $50,000 over 20 years or a lump sum of $600,000. She obviously shares my philosophy that none of us is promised tomorrow, much less 20 years. With this in mind, Martinez chose the lump sum of $600,000. After Uncle Sam and the Tar Heel State took their tax taste, a direct deposit of $429,003 appeared in her account.

The Martinez's plan is to buy a new home.

There are some states that are luckier than others. There is no doubt about it. North Carolina made the list of 15 lucky states in the United States, according to OLBG. Everyone has fantasized about winning the lottery, whether it's the Mega Millions or the Powerball. Whether you're planning a lavish vacation, buying a house, treating a loved one, giving to charity, or all of the above, when we buy a ticket we always have a little bit of hope and our imaginations go wild when we hear about the unclaimed winning ticket...

When it comes to winning big on the lottery, which states are the luckiest? To determine where in America has the greatest likelihood of winning the big bucks, OLBG analyzed all lottery winners in the U.S. with a jackpot of $300 million or more. You can see the top 15 states below.

California was ranked 12th luckiest state despite having the highest number of big lottery winners, primarily because the state has such a large population that there are very few lottery winners, and the average winning ticket for a California winner is only $190.5 million.

North Carolina has won a whopping $1.1 billion between both lottery winners, making its average winning ticket $550 million, the highest in the country. As a result of its higher population, North Carolina didn't quite capture the title by itself, with a lower percentage of its population winning than New Hampshire.

In terms of lottery jackpot winners, New Hampshire and North Carolina share the gold for the luckiest states. Residents in New Hampshire have won a total of $693.7 million, which is an average of $346.85 million per winning ticket. As one of the states with the highest percentage of people who have won over $300 million, New Hampshire has the third smallest population.