First-time homeowner gets more than she bargained for

By Kate Northrop

GREENSBORO, N.C. — A North Carolina woman who bought her first house won $1 million in the lottery just a week after closing on the home.

Patricia Simmons of Greensboro is a first-time homeowner. One week after finalizing the purchase, she became a millionaire, too.

Simmons was feeling lucky a week after closing on a house for the first time and visited the Fairway One Stop convenience store on South Elm Eugene Street in Greensboro. There, she picked out a $30 scratch-off ticket from the cabinet.

It awarded her the most expensive housewarming gift yet — a $1 million top prize in the "Millionaire Maker" game.

"I just stared at it," Simmons told the North Carolina Lottery. "It was unreal to see that."

Her husband was in complete disbelief when she called him to relay the news.

"He said, 'Tricia, you're playing,'" she recalled. "He wanted to see the ticket."

The photo of Simmons grinning ear-to-ear with her family while holding a huge ceremonial check from the Lottery proves it's no joke. She claimed her prize at Lottery headquarters in Raleigh on Monday.

Between the annuity of $50,000 over 20 years or a lump sum payment of $600,000, the winner opted for the lump sum and took home $427,509 after state and federal taxes.

Buying a home is an exciting, yet daunting, accomplishment for anyone. Simmons, who works as an in-home aide, said that she initially had concerns about paying a mortgage every month as a first-time homeowner.

Now, she's relieved to know that the newfound lottery winnings will take a huge deal of pressure off by helping with the payments.

"I've been in shock ever since," she said. "I'm just numb."

Currently, there are 18 out of 60 top prizes of $1 million left to claim in the "Millionaire Maker" scratch-off game, which launched in March 2021. There are also seven out of 20 second-tier prizes of $100,000 and 13 out of 40 third-tier prizes of $20,000 remaining. According to the Lottery, the odds of winning any prize in the game are 1 in 2.95.

(Click to display full-size in gallery)Patricia Simmons of Greensboro, North Carolina, is a first-time homeowner and now a millionaire too.