College student wins $100K prize playing lottery for first time

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - A University of North Carolina Wilmington student cashed in a big prize while celebrating her 19th birthday.

Laniah Ashley won $100,000 when playing a 100X The Cash scratch-off ticket on Wednesday, WECT reported.

“I kept looking at the numbers and reading the rules over and over again,” Ashley said. “I was too stunned to speak.”

Ashley was celebrating her birthday with her grandparents at a Chinese restaurant before she stopped by a Han-Dee Hugo’s convenience store in Clinton where she purchased the ticket for $20.

“It was my first time ever buying a ticket,” she said. “I thought the colors on the ticket looked pretty so I chose that one.”

Ashley took home $71,016, after required state and federal tax withholdings.

The N.C. Education Lottery says Ashley, a biology major who plans to attend medical school, plans to put some of the money toward paying for school while helping her grandparents.

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