You’re never too old to listen to your mom. That’s the lesson Shelby Tripp of Stokes said she learned after her mom’s intuition led her to a $4 million lottery prize.

On Halloween, Tripp’s mom won $500 on a lottery ticket. She immediately called her daughter to share the good news.

“She said she had a lucky feeling and I needed to buy a lottery ticket,” Tripp said. “I don’t always listen to her, but this time I did.”

Tripp stopped by the Speedway on South Memorial Drive in Greenville and bought a $150 Million Cash Explosion scratch-off ticket.

“I didn’t even scratch the ticket until I was ready to go to bed,” Tripp said. “I put it on the kitchen counter, cleaned up the house, and did some other chores.”

At first, Tripp didn’t think she won anything, but she kept scratching.

“When I saw the $4 million I couldn’t believe it,” Tripp said. “I had my mom come over to see if I was reading it right. When she said I was, I ran around the house pacing and screaming for at least thirty minutes.”

Tripp claimed the prize Wednesday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. She had the choice of taking a $4 million annuity that has 20 payments of $200,000 a year or a lump sum of $2.4 million. She chose the lump sum. After required state and federal tax withholdings, she took home $1,692,030. She plans to use some of the money to redecorate her mom’s house.

“She’s worked so hard her whole life,” Tripp said. “I just want to do something nice for her. I’ll pay off her house and then make sure she has her house redecorated the way she’s always dreamed.”

The $20 ticket launched in October with four top prizes of $4 million. Tripp won the first top prize in the game. Three top prizes remain.

Ticket sales from games like $150 Million Cash Explosion help the lottery raise more than $650 million a year for education. For details on how lottery funds are making a difference in all of North Carolina’s 100 counties, click on the “Impact” section of the lottery’s website, https://www.nclottery.com.