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A pair of married military veterans in North Carolina will finally have the wedding of their dreams thanks to their recent lottery win.
Retired U.S. Army Sgt. Carla Johnson, of Carthage, purchased a $20 Premier Cash scratch-off ticket Friday (October 1) at the J Cash Mart in Cameron. It wasn't until later that night that she checked to see if she won anything when she found that she earned the $100,000 prize, according to the Herald Sun.
"I started to panic, and I just started screaming," she said.
Johnson claimed her prize at lottery headquarters in Raleigh on Monday (October 4), bringing home a total of $70,756. So what do they plan to do with their winnings? For starters, they plan to have the wedding they've always dreamed of.
"We really didn't have a wedding-wedding, so now 25 years later we're actually able to have a wedding," she told lottery officials.
Johnson and her husband got married in December 1996, one day before she was deployed to serve as a diesel mechanic in the Persian Gulf. Her husband also served 23 years in Army and is now retired.
"At least we know the wedding is paid for ... now and we don't have to panic," Johnson told her husband. "It was just a blessing."
Johnson also plans to tithe 10% of the prize to her church and set up a college fund for her four grandchildren.