Wilson County woman accidentally wins $2 million lottery jackpot

LUCAMA, N.C. (WTVD) -- A Wilson County woman took home a big lottery payday by accident.

Elizabeth Johnson bought her Powerball ticket on May 19, intending to play in that day's lottery drawing.

However, she bought her ticket too late. Her numbers were accepted at 9:58 p.m.--one minute after the deadline for the 10 p.m. drawing.

Therefore, her numbers did not count toward the May 19 drawing--and it's a lucky thing too.

Her numbers counted toward the May 22 drawing, and they matched all five white balls. Hitting that 1 in 292 million chance meant she had won a $2 million jackpot.

"It was definitely a shock!" Johnson said. "When I got the message saying that I had won I thought, 'Well, I didn't even play tonight.'"

After taxes, Johnson pocketed $1,415,001. Not a bad return on a $3 lottery ticket.

She said she plans to use the money to buy a house and take her kids to Disneyland.