Lottery player’s plan for nap is ruined by ‘jolt of excitement’ from jackpot win
A North Carolina woman was ready to get rest when a “jolt of excitement” ruined her plans.
Samantha Spencer was shocked when she learned she won $158,426 in the N.C. Education Lottery.
“I was about to lay down for a nap but that made me jump up real quick,” she told lottery officials in a June 3 news release.
Spencer hit the jackpot after she tried her luck on The Lamp: Dark Arts. She was drawn to the online game because of its appearance.
“My favorite color is green and the wheel in the game is green,” Spencer said.
The Lamp: Dark Arts is a progressive jackpot game that features a prize wheel and digital icons players can match to win big. Spencer, who beat odds of 1 in 32 million, spent $1 on her ticket and scored the second-tier jackpot prize.
“I was pretty surprised,” said Spencer, who kept $113,671 after taxes. “I didn’t expect that.”
The lucky winner is from Conover, in Catawba County and a roughly 45-mile drive northwest from Charlotte. She hopes to put her prize money toward bills and donate to cat rescue organizations.
It’s not the first time a huge prize made someone wake up. Another North Carolina lottery player was drinking his morning coffee when he realized his ticket was going to make him richer, McClatchy News reported in October.
This story was originally published June 4, 2025 at 6:50 AM with the headline "Lottery player’s plan for nap is ruined by ‘jolt of excitement’ from jackpot win."
