Craving for steak fajitas leads woman to huge NC lottery prize. ‘It’s gonna be great’
A craving for steak fajitas led a North Carolina woman to an even more satisfying lottery prize.
Robin Hicks wanted to make the dish when she realized she forgot a couple of ingredients. After she went to the grocery store to get the missing items, she bought a lottery ticket worth $250,000, according to the N.C. Education Lottery.
“Yay for steak fajitas and forgetting tomato and fajita mix,” Hicks told lottery officials in a news release.
Now, Hicks said she has big plans to help her mom. She hopes to pay off both of their bills to celebrate the six-figure prize.
“It’s gonna be great from here on out,” she said in the news release.
Hicks scored the winning lottery ticket as she was returning home from the grocery store. Officials said she made a pit stop at the Kim’s Mart convenience store in Burlington, roughly 20 miles east of Greensboro.
That’s where she cashed in a $50 prize and decided to try her luck another time. She planned to buy a ticket for a newer lottery game before a 20X The Cash ticket caught her eye, officials said.
“I’d only played the 20X The Cash one other time,” said Hicks, who spent $5 on her latest winning ticket.
It turns out, Hicks scored the game’s top prize of $250,000. Hicks, who lives in Alamance County, kept $178,126 after taxes.
It’s not the first time someone’s craving has led them to hit the jackpot. A man wanting a snack added a lucky lottery ticket to his South Carolina purchase, while a Maryland man used leftover money from his chicken dinner to buy his winning ticket, McClatchy News reported.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREWhen gambling is more than a game
Gambling is designed to be a source of entertainment.
If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website.
This story was originally published April 26, 2023 at 8:13 AM.
