UNCW student wins $100,000 in lottery on her birthday

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - What a way to celebrate your birthday!

Laniah Ashley, a UNCW student from Clinton, won $100,000 when she played the lottery for the first time on her 19th birthday.

“I kept looking at the numbers and reading the rules over and over again,” Ashley said. “I was too stunned to speak.”

Ashley, who was home for spring break, turned 19 on Wednesday. She celebrated her birthday with her grandparents at a Chinese restaurant before stopping by the Han-Dee Hugo’s on Southeast Blvd. in Clinton where she purchased a $20 100X The Cash scratch-off.

“It was my first time ever buying a ticket,” she said. “I thought the colors on the ticket looked pretty so I chose that one.”

After required state and federal tax withholdings, Ashley took home $71,016.

“Ashley, a biology major who plans to attend medical school, said she wants to put some money toward paying for school and help out her grandparents as well,” a news release from the N.C. Education Lottery states,

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