Helping out a friend leads woman to nearly $300,000 lottery prize

Aug. 26 (UPI) -- A North Carolina woman said doing a favor for a friend gave her the good karma to win a nearly $300,000 lottery jackpot.

Debra Denton of Wilmington told North Carolina Education Lottery officials she was taking her friend out to run errands when they stopped at the Mj Pit Stop store in Wilmington.

"My friend doesn't have a car," Denton said. "I usually drive her to get groceries or run other errands."

Denton said her friend had suggested they buy some scratch-off lottery tickets for a mutual friend, and she decided to buy herself a Quick Pick Cash 5 ticket in the process.

She found out the next morning that she had won the $289,503 jackpot.

"I couldn't believe it," Denton said. "When I checked the numbers I was like, 'Okay, I matched the first one, and the last one, and, wait a minute, I matched all of them!'"

The winner said she took the ticket back to the store to double-check with a scanning machine.

"When I scanned it and it said go to lottery headquarters, I knew I wasn't seeing things," Denton said. "I'm still in disbelief. I just feel so blessed."

Denton said she plans to use her winnings to pay off her mortgage.