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A former North Carolina teacher is celebrating her birthday a little early after winning a big prize in the state lottery.
Katherine Robinson, a retired middle school teacher from Apex, recently stopped by the Publix on Kelly Road to pick up a $10 Big Bucks Bingo ticket. According to a release from the NC Education Lottery, the ticket reminds her of when she would play bingo with her mother.
"When I was a teenager I used to go to bingo games with my mother," she said. "I've always liked to play bingo, it's so much fun."
The lucky lottery ticket ended up winning big, scoring the entire $162,826 Fast Play jackpot.
"I got so excited I couldn't even believe it," she said. The prize couldn't have come at a better time either as she hit the jackpot the day before her 68th birthday. "What a great birthday present."
Robinson claimed her prize at lottery headquarters on Wednesday (September 28), bringing home a total of $115,626 after all required state and federal tax withholdings. When asked what she hopes to do with her new winnings, she told lottery officials she plans to use some of the prize to replace the windows on her house.