Tamara Vivian of Rowan County has won a $1 million prize in the state lottery.
Vivian, an office manager for a local chiropractor, plans to purchase a new car and pay off her student loans, according to a press release from the N.C. Education Lottery.
Vivian was sitting in her car when she scratched off the top prize on her Maximum Green ticket.
“I held the ticket in my hand for 45 seconds before I realized it,” Vivian said. “I immediately called my sister to tell her and my hand wouldn’t stop shaking. I could barely hold the phone.”
The Maximum Green game allows players who scratch the top prize to choose between a 20-year annuity or take a discounted lump sum cash prize of $600,000.
After choosing the lump sum option, Vivian received a payment of $408,003, after taxes were withheld. She said she plans to use a portion of her winnings to pay off her credit cards.
“Next week I am going to wake up and not owe anything to anyone,” Vivian said as she held her check for the first time. “It’s going to feel amazing. This is life-changing.”
Vivian purchased the winning ticket at the Village Grocery & Garden Shop on U.S. 601 North in Salisbury.
As of Monday afternoon, the Maximum Green game has four $1 million top prizes remaining to be claimed.
Since the lottery began through June 30, 2011, Rowan County education programs received more than $26.2 million in lottery funds. By law, those funds pay for teachers’ salaries in grades K-3, school construction, need-based college scholarships and prekindergarten programs.