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RALEIGH – Marion Burke of Conway said she doesn’t have to keep wondering if she is ever going to win big after a $20 scratch-off ticket turned into a $100,000 prize.

“I kept asking myself, ‘Is it ever going to happen for me?’” Burke said. “And it finally did.”

Burke, a 54-year-old retired correctional officer, was visiting her brother when she decided to buy a $2,000,000 Diamond Dazzler ticket from the Breeze Thru on U.S. 64 West in Apex.

“I looked at it and thought, ‘This can’t be real,’” Burke said. “I just couldn’t believe it finally happened.”

Burke arrived at lottery headquarters Wednesday to collect her prize and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $71,016. She said she wants to pay off some bills and then share her winnings with her family.

The $2,000,000 Diamond Dazzler game launched this month with four top prizes of $2 million and eight $100,000 prizes. Three $2 million top prizes and six $100,000 prizes remain to be claimed.

Ticket sales from scratch-off games make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $900 million per year for education.

A $15 million grant, using money raised by the lottery, was awarded to Northampton County in 2019 to help build a new school.

For details on other ways Northampton County benefits from lottery funds, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.