$150,000 lottery prize helps Hurricane Florence victim repair home

By Yesenia Jones, WRAL.com intern

Shannon, N.C. — On Tuesday morning, Shannon Tolson got lucky and won a $150,000 lottery prize that she will use to repair damage inflicted on her home by Hurricane Florence.

Tolson bought the winning $5 Holiday Cash scratch-off ticket on Monday, when she stopped by a local pawn shop.

“I rarely play the lottery,” Tolson said. “But I saw the new ticket and decided to get one.”

She discovered her good fortune on Tuesday when she scratched-off the ticket.

“I had to show my daughter to make sure I wasn’t seeing things,” Tolson said. “I asked her, ‘Is this what I think it is?’ She looked and said. ‘Yes, momma it is.'”

Tolson drove to Raleigh’s lottery headquarters almost immediately to claim her prize. After required state and federal taxes, she took home $105,753.