Cary woman wins $100,000 scratch-off after Durham gas station stop

Ruth O’Neal Allen of Cary turned a routine stop in Durham into a six-figure lottery win after buying a $30 Cash Payday scratch-off at Trinity Park Family Fare, 1016 W. Main St. Allen hit the game’s $100,000 top prize and claimed it Thursday at North Carolina Education Lottery headquarters, where the prize was reduced to $72,018 after required state and federal tax withholdings.

The win lands squarely in the triangle of Wake and Durham counties, where a quick errand can cross city lines in minutes. Allen’s ticket came from a gas station on West Main Street in Durham, but the payoff went home to Cary, giving Wake County readers a local name attached to a prize that otherwise could have belonged to any driver passing through.

The North Carolina Education Lottery says Cash Payday is a $30 game with overall odds of 1 in 3.49. It also says the game includes 80 top prizes of $100,000, which the lottery describes as the most $100,000 prizes it has ever offered on one scratch-off. New scratch-off games are released every First Tuesday, and the lottery updates its remaining-prizes page daily as prizes are claimed.

That context matters because the advertised amount is not the amount a winner pockets. Allen’s $100,000 prize became $72,018 after tax withholdings, a gap that often surprises casual players who see only the headline figure. Another recent Cash Payday winner, Avory Cassell of Magnolia, also won $100,000 and took home the same $72,018 after taxes, showing that the game has already produced multiple top-prize claims since its launch.

For Wake County players, the takeaway is practical: the game’s lure is real, but so are the odds and the tax bill. A stop for fuel or snacks at a Durham convenience store can still turn into a headline-making win, yet the check that arrives after withholding tells the fuller financial story.