Lee County Mom’s Cooking Interrupted With $865,960 Jackpot Win

SANFORD, N.C. – Haley Michael of Sanford stood in her kitchen June 5 cooking lunch for her daughters when out of the blue she hit an $865,960 Digital Instant jackpot.

“I ran to my bedroom freaking out,” she laughed. “My daughters didn’t know what was going on.”

Michael played for $1 and won the top level ‘Epic jackpot’ in the Bison Bonanza game. The digital instant game features a progressive jackpot that can be won any time. The odds of that win are 1 in 31 million.

“I was on the ground crying,” Michael recalled. “Then I called my husband and told him, ‘I won the lottery.’ He didn’t believe it.”

She claimed her prize June 9 at lottery headquarters and, after required federal and state tax withholdings, took home $623,579.

She plans to use her winnings to help her husband start a business.