Woman buys her first $30 NC lottery ticket and wins the game’s top prize

A typically frugal lottery player threw caution to the wind at a gas station by spending $30 on a single ticket, and it paid off with a stunning seven-figure win, according to the North Carolina Education Lottery.

Stephanie Marquez of Cary says her approach to lottery scratch offs is to spend no more than $10, but something came over her at the Xpress Mart on North Sharon Amity Road in Charlotte

“I guess I just thought, ‘Shoot your shot,’” Marquez said in a May 2 news release. “That was my first time buying that one.”

The $30 Max-A-Million ticket beat odds of 1 in 363,970.8 to win her $1 million, which is the game’s top prize.

“I was just kind of numb. I kept thinking, ‘That can’t be real,’” she told lottery officials.

Marquez claimed her money Friday, May 2, at lottery headquarters in Raleigh and she was given a choice of taking a lump sum or getting a $50,000 annuity for the next 20 years.

“She chose the lump sum of $600,000 and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $430,508,” lottery officials said.

Marquez is a a grandmother of two and her plan is to use some of the money for their college education, officials said. “This is a really good thing for us right now,” she said in the release.

This story was originally published May 5, 2025 at 8:47 AM with the headline "Woman buys her first $30 NC lottery ticket and wins the game’s top prize."