Charlotte homeowner claims $100,000 lottery prize from new Stacks of Cash scratch-off game launch
A $20 scratch-off purchase in south Charlotte turns into a six-figure win
A Charlotte woman has claimed a $100,000 prize from a newly released North Carolina Education Lottery scratch-off game after buying a ticket shortly after purchasing a home. The winner, Yolanda Black, said the timing of the prize aligned closely with her recent move, summing up the moment with the phrase, “New home, new money.”
Black bought the winning ticket from Cigarettes & More on Pineville-Matthews Road and scratched it at home. She later traveled to lottery headquarters to claim the prize. After required federal and state tax withholdings, the net payment was $72,016. She said she plans to use the money to help furnish her new home.
What the game is and what remains available
The winning ticket came from “Stacks of Cash,” a $20 scratch-off game released on January 6, 2026. The game’s advertised top prize is $2 million, and the lottery publishes the game’s overall odds as 1 in 3.35 for winning any prize.
As of January 13, the lottery’s published remaining-prize list for Stacks of Cash showed:
- Three $2 million top prizes remaining
- Five $100,000 prizes remaining
- Multiple mid-tier prizes still available, including $10,000 prizes
The $100,000 claimed by Black is identified by the lottery as the first $100,000 prize claimed from this specific game since its release.
How scratch-off payouts work when a prize is claimed
Lottery winners who claim prizes at headquarters receive payments that reflect mandatory tax withholdings. In this case, the $100,000 prize resulted in a net check of $72,016 after deductions. Lottery scratch-off games typically include a fixed number of top and secondary prizes printed at launch, and published “remaining prizes” figures can change daily as tickets are sold and prizes are claimed.
“I just bought a new home. Someone told me, ‘New home, new money.’”
Local context: a personal windfall amid broader lottery discussion
The win arrives as the role of lottery revenue in education funding continues to draw attention statewide. Recent public reporting on state audits has highlighted that the share of lottery revenue transferred to education has shifted over time, even as overall sales have reached record levels. Within that larger policy debate, individual prize stories like Black’s reflect the consumer-facing side of lottery participation: a chance-based purchase that can produce a significant one-time payout, while most tickets do not return a profit.
For players, the lottery’s published game details—ticket price, overall odds, and remaining top prizes—offer the primary snapshot of how a new scratch-off is structured as it moves through its sales cycle.