Brunswick County woman plans to use $1 million lottery win to buy new house

LELAND, NC (WWAY) — A Brunswick County woman recently tried her luck on a lottery scratch off and won big.

Wendy Hester of Leland said she can fulfill her longtime dream of buying a house for her family after she won the first $1 million top prize in a new scratch-off game.

“This is a dream,” Hester said. “We can finally get our home.”

Hester bought her lucky $10 VIP Platinum ticket from Fairhaven Mini Mart on Walker Street Northeast in Leland.

“Something just told me to buy it, so I did,” she said. “It was just meant to be, I think.”

Hester took the ticket home and started scratching it.

“I just kept looking at it thinking, ‘This can’t be right,’” she recalled. “But it was right.”

Hester said she contacted her husband as soon as she realized she won.

“I called him and told him, ‘I just won a million dollars,’” she said.

Hester chose the lump-sum amount of $600,000 and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $427,503.

She said in addition to buying a home, she will pay off her car, too.

“This is a godsend,” Hester said. “We really needed this.”

The VIP Platinum game debuted this month with five $1 million top prizes. Four $1 million prizes remain to be claimed.