Son makes astounding prediction in the backseat of the car

By Kate Northrop

LEXINGTON, N.C. — A North Carolina mother said her son's prediction of her $100,000 lottery win gave her a car ride she'll remember forever.

One North Carolina woman was stunned as she watched a $100,000 lottery prize unfold before her very eyes right after her son correctly guessed her win.

Emily Praytor of Lexington will never forget the car ride on a Saturday night when she, her husband, and her son were on the road while she scratched off a lucky lottery ticket.

After stopping at the Quality Mart on Cotton Grove Road in Lexington and picking up a $30 "MAX-A-MILLION" instant ticket, the family settled in the car and got on their way.

Praytor's husband drove while she scratched her ticket off in the passenger's seat. In the back, her son made a wicked prediction.

"He said, 'I hope you win on number 55,'" Praytor recalled to North Carolina Lottery officials, "and that was the winning number on my ticket."

Much to her astonishment, she won the game's first available $100,000 second-tier prize.

"I was like, 'Did we really win this?'" the winner said in a press release. "I couldn't believe it."

On Monday, Praytor visited Lottery headquarters in Raleigh to claim her prize and took home a total of $71,758 after federal and state taxes.

"This is pretty awesome," she remarked.

Praytor is a mother to three boys, and she told the Lottery that the winnings will go a long way to help her accomplish some home renovations. She plans on saving the remainder.

With Praytor claiming the first $100,000 second-tier prize, nine remain in the $30 "MAX-A-MILLION" scratch-off game, which launched in March. There are also 19 out of 25 top prizes of $1 million and 16 out of 20 third-tier prizes of $20,000 left.

The overall odds of winning any prize in the game are 1 in 2.95.

(Click to display full-size in gallery)Emily Praytor of Lexington will never forget the car ride on a Saturday night when she, her husband, and her son were on the road while she scratched off a lucky lottery ticket.