Durham COVID-19 nurse wins $1 million lottery prize to start 2021

Monday, January 11, 2021
DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- A Durham nurse started out 2021 on an exhilarating high -- by winning $1 million in the North Carolina Education Lottery.

Terri Watkins thought someone was pulling her leg when she learned about her winnings last week.

"I thought that it was a scam. I was a little upset actually!" she said, laughing. "I thought that it was not real, couldn't be real. It's still something that I really don't believe, I'm still in some shock here."

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Her entry was chosen from over 513,000 entries in the final $300,000,000 Supreme Riches second-chance drawing on Wednesday.

"I'm a nurse and I work in the COVID unit at a long-term care facility," said Watkins. "Just seeing some of the things that I've had to see, I am very thankful. I had been praying for something to help me with this situation. It really is a great thing. I'm very blessed."

Terri said she'll mull over what to do with her winnings, but a new home sounds nice.

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"I'm just gonna take it slow and easy and figure out what I'm gonna do," said Watkins. "I would love a new home, but I've just got to take time and put it in the right place."
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