Last Updated on January 10, 2023 6:38 pm
Friday, January 6, 2023 – Just two months after winning a $1 million lottery prize, Kenya Sloan of Shelby doubled her luck, winning $2 million on a $20 scratch-off.
“I was like, ‘No way this happened again,’” Sloan said. “But it did.”
Sloan, 41, bought her lucky $2,000,000 Diamond Dazzler ticket in October from the Esha Food Mart on South Lafayette Street in Shelby.
“I was just standing there in shock,” Sloan said. “I just feel blessed. That’s all I can say.”
Sloan said it was her first time playing the $2,000,000 Diamond Dazzler game. Her previous $1 million win occurred in August when she played the Carolina Jackpot game for the first time as well.
“I told some of my family members and they couldn’t believe it either,” she said.
When Sloan arrived at lottery headquarters Thursday to collect her prize, she had a decision to make. She could choose to receive the prize as an annuity of $100,000 over 20 years or a lump sum of $1.2 million. She chose the lump-sum amount of $1.2 million and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $855,006.
After her first big win in August, Sloan said she wanted to buy a house. She purchased land and has almost finished building her new home.
Sloan said now she planned to use her winnings to make her dream to open her own soul food restaurant come true.
Ticket sales from scratch-off games make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $2.5 million a day on average for education. The state provided $28.5 million in grants, using money raised by the lottery, to help Cleveland County with school construction. For details on other ways Cleveland County benefits from lottery funds, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.
