Durham student with dreams of med school wins $100,000 in lottery game

On Saturday night, Kaila Moore of Durham had a dream that she’d bought a scratch-off ticket. Acting on that dream led her to buy her first lottery ticket and a $100,000 win.

“I’ve never bought a lottery ticket ever in my entire life,” said Moore. “I literally had a dream that I bought a scratch-off. So, when I woke up I went and bought one.”

She went to the Food Lion on West Main Street in Durham Sunday morning, paid $20 for the $4,000,000 Gold Rush game, then took her ticket home to scratch it.

Her reaction to realizing she’d won? Excitement.

“I was with my mom,” said the East Carolina University student. “She was more excited about it than me!”

They both knew this money was going to go toward Moore’s education.

“I plan to go to medical school and medical school is not cheap!” she said. “I’m going to invest some of it in a mutual fund and the rest I’m just going to save.”

Moore claimed her prize Wednesday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required federal and state tax withholdings she took home $70,756 but said she wouldn’t celebrate until after her physics class and studying.

The $4,000,000 Gold Rush game launched in August with three top prizes of $4,000,000 and six $100,000. Two $4,000,000 and three $100,000 prizes remain.

Ticket sales from scratch-off games make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $725 million per year for education. For details on how $13.1 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Durham County in 2019, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.