Kahla Jeffries lottery win turns first ticket into $100,000
Gastonia resident Kahla Jeffries won a $100,000 top prize after buying her first scratch-off ticket during a gas stop.
By Bianca Rossi · Entertainment Editor
2 min read
Kahla Jeffries lottery win came on her very first scratch-off ticket, according to the North Carolina Education Lottery, turning a routine gas stop in Gastonia into a $100,000 payday.
Jeffries, a Gastonia resident, told lottery officials she had stopped at Will's Food Store on Hickory Grove Road when she decided to try a scratch-off lottery ticket for the first time in her life.
The game she picked was $100,000 Cash Payday, according to the lottery. It delivered exactly what its name promised: a $100,000 top prize.
Jeffries told North Carolina Education Lottery officials that the ticket stood out to her at the store. “That one just caught my eye,” she said, according to the lottery.
How did Kahla Jeffries win the lottery?
Jeffries won by buying a $100,000 Cash Payday scratch-off ticket at Will's Food Store in Gastonia, the North Carolina Education Lottery said. A scratch-off ticket is a lottery game where the buyer removes a covering from the ticket to reveal whether it matches a prize-winning result.
Her reaction was disbelief, according to lottery officials. “I didn't think I was looking at it right,” Jeffries said.
The win was reported by UPI on July 27, citing the North Carolina Education Lottery. The lottery also released a photo of Jeffries with her prize announcement.
Jeffries told officials she already has plans for the money. She said the prize will help pay for a new car and go toward saving for school.
The lottery identified the prize as a top prize in the $100,000 Cash Payday game. No additional payout details were included in the lottery account cited by UPI.
The story has the neat little lottery twist players dream about: no years of buying tickets, no long-running number strategy, no complicated ritual. According to the lottery's account, Jeffries made one first-time choice at a Gastonia gas stop, picked the ticket that caught her eye, and walked away with a six-figure prize.
For Jeffries, the lucky stop was local: Will's Food Store on Hickory Grove Road. For the North Carolina Education Lottery, it was another first-ticket winner story with an easy headline, a Gastonia woman tried a scratch-off once and landed the game's top prize.
This story draws on original reporting from UPI.