NC mom studying to be a nurse goes on late-night coffee run — and ends up much richer
A mom studying to be a nurse stopped for caffeine in North Carolina — and ended up winning a $100,000 prize.
Mputu Basemo was hitting the books late Sunday when she decided to go on a coffee run in Charlotte, officials say.
That’s when she bought a lottery ticket on a whim, according to a N.C. Education Lottery news release published Tuesday.
It turns out, the ticket was worth $100,000, officials say.
Basemo, who has three children, was in disbelief when she found out how much she won in the Carolina Keno game, according to the news release.
“I wasn’t expecting to win anything,” she said in the release. “I just wanted to try the game. This is only the second time I’ve played Keno, too.”
For Basemo, the big prize means she has more money to put toward education costs, the N.C. Education Lottery says.
“I graduate next year and have to pay student loans,” Basemo said, according to the lottery. “I kept worrying about how I was going to cover everything. Now I’ve got help.”
The lucky moment came after Basemo stopped at a 7-Eleven in Charlotte. At the convenience store on Old Providence Road, officials say she bought coffee and the winning lottery ticket.
“When I checked the numbers I couldn’t believe it,” Basemo said in the news release. “I thought to myself, ‘Now that’s too many zeroes. There has to be a mistake!’ But it wasn’t a mistake.”
After taxes, the Charlotte mom got $70,750, according to the N.C. Education Lottery.
Basemo beat approximate odds of about 1 in 8.9 million to win the top prize in the Carolina Keno game.
