A woman in North Carolina, United States realized that the famed “mother’s intuition” does, in fact, exist, after she won the lottery which her mother told she would.

Shelby Tripp won the first $4 million prize (around P209 million) of four prizes of the same value from the North Carolina Education Lottery, as reported by WCTI-TV on Nov. 16. Apparently, her decision to buy the winning $150 Million Cash Explosion scratch-off ticket worth $20 (about P1,000) came after her mother told her she had a “lucky feeling.”

Tripp followed her mother’s intuition and bought a scratch-off ticket on her way home. However, she did not scratch the ticket immediately.

She said she put the ticket on the kitchen counter upon arriving home and proceeded to clean her house and do other chores.

Imagine her surprise therefore when she learned about her prize, after finally scratching the ticket before going to bed.

“When I saw the $4 million I couldn’t believe it,” Tripp said in the report. “I had my mom come over to see if I was reading it right. When she said I was, I ran around the house pacing and screaming for at least thirty minutes.”

In most lotteries in the United States, winners are given the chance to choose between taking a lump sum or an annuity. The lump sum choice means the winner gets to take the prize home in a single cash transfer while the annuity entails a series of annual payments.

Tripp chose the lump sum option. She took home $1,692,030 (around P88 million) after taxes.

She claimed her prize on Nov. 14 and told the broadcast station she would use the money for her mother’s house.

“She’s worked so hard her whole life. I just want to do something nice for her,” she added. “I’ll pay off her house and then make sure she has her house redecorated the way she’s always dreamed.”

If there is one important thing Tripp learned from her win, it is her realization that sometimes, listening to one’s mother yields great results.

“She said she had a lucky feeling and I needed to buy a lottery ticket,” Tripp shared. “I don’t always listen to her, but this time I did.” Kate Matriano/JB

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