Raleigh grandmother wins $728,048 lottery jackpot on digital instant game

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- A Raleigh grandmother, who plays online instant lottery games before she goes to bed, thought for sure she was asleep and dreaming Wednesday.

"I kept pinching myself thinking I would wake up," Vickie Koch said. "I thought I was asleep; I really did."

Koch was in her living room playing Bison Bonanza by the North Carolina Education Lottery. It's a digital instant game featuring a progressive jackpot that can be won at any time.

Koch won it.

"I was just sitting there, like I was numb," she said. "This is just such a huge blessing."

Her jackpot was $728,048. That's the second biggest digital instant win since the lottery began offering the games in November.

"The first thing I was thinking was, 'What can I do to help my family,'" Koch said. "I want to use this to set up an education trust for my grandchildren's college."

After tax withholdings, Koch took home a little over half a million dollars.

She said plans to also use a little of the money to take a girls' trip "somewhere tropical."