Holiday Shock: Grandma’s Lottery Gift Makes Woman $150,000 Rich

A simple Christmas tradition turned into a huge surprise for a North Carolina woman — and it’s a holiday she won’t forget anytime soon.

Gracie Burgess of Apex was spending Christmas with more than 20 family members when her grandmother handed out her usual gifts: $5 scratch-off tickets for everyone. It’s something she does every year. This time, one ticket changed everything.

When Burgess scratched her ticket, she realized she’d hit the top prize of $150,000 on the Peppermint Payout game. The room quickly filled with excitement — and a few tears.

“Everything got a little chaotic,” Burgess said. Her grandmother, who bought the winning ticket, was especially emotional and thrilled by the surprise win.

Here’s what made the moment extra special:

• ? A long-standing family Christmas tradition paid off big

• ? A $5 gift turned into a $150,000 prize

• ?? Her grandmother was overwhelmed with joy

After state and federal taxes, Burgess took home $107,626, which she claimed at the NC Education Lottery headquarters in Raleigh. She says her plans are simple and smart: fix her car and save the rest.

The Peppermint Payout game launched just two months earlier with three top prizes of $150,000. As of early January, one top prize was still unclaimed, and the odds of winning it stand at 1 in 1,353,300.

Big lottery surprises aren’t limited to North Carolina. In Michigan, a 68-year-old man recently shocked his family after winning $6 million playing the Super Raffle game. He said his wife was so stunned by the news, she “stopped breathing for a minute.”

From holiday scratch-offs to raffle tickets, these stories prove that sometimes, luck shows up when you least expect it — often wrapped as a gift.