Charlotte woman wins $4 million in NC lottery. Her ticket purchase was unusual

A Charlotte woman just won $4 million in the North Carolina Education Lottery, but lottery devotees may want to think twice before following her example.

Swati Amin went all the way to Asheville for her ticket, making a round trip of about 250 miles to BJ’s Food Mart on Michigan Avenue, maps show.

However, there is a sensible explanation for the trek, lottery officials said in a Nov. 10 news release.

“Amin sometimes works at the store and said she bought her ticket after getting off work,” lottery officials said.

It was a $30 Carolina Black Premier scratch-off, officials said. Amin won the top prize, beating odds of 1 in 2,462,700, according to the game.

“When Amin arrived Friday (Nov. 7) to collect her prize, she had a decision to make. She could choose to receive the prize as an annuity of $200,000 over 20 years or a lump sum of $2.4 million,” lottery officials said.

“She chose the lump sum of $2.4 million and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $1,722,008.”

Amin is the first person to win a $4 million top prize in the game, officials said.

Details of how she intends to spend the money were not released.

This story was originally published November 11, 2025 at 7:38 AM with the headline "Charlotte woman wins $4 million in NC lottery. Her ticket purchase was unusual."