North Carolina Family Wins Lottery 3 Times
One lucky mother-daughter duo is enjoying their third lotto windfall.
July 26, 2011— -- Most people only dream of winning the lottery, but a North Carolina mother and daughter not only beat the odds -- they did it three times.
Kimberly McCauley of Charlotte, N.C., won $100,000 in North Carolina's new scratcher game called "10X the Money," last week.
McCauley said she never imagined she'd win anything. After all, her mother Amy McCauley is a two-time lottery winner.
"I figured my mom was hogging all the luck. This is so overwhelming, but it's a good kind of overwhelming," Kimberly told lottery officials.
The elder McCauley won $15.5 million in the New York State Lottery in 1991 and just collected her final 20 year annuity check.
Her lucky streak continued four years ago, when she won $161,172 in the North Carolina Education Lottery by matching all five numbers to her ticket. Since then, she has gone on to collect two $1,000 prizes from the state's lottery and even appeared in an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show discussing her windfall.
Kimberly brought her mom -- by now a seasoned veteran -- with her to the North Carolina Education Lottery's office in Raleigh last Monday to claim her prize.
Ryan Kennemur, spokesperon for the North Carolina Education Lottery, said the two seemed calm.
"Once you win the lottery twice, what's a third time?" he told ABC News.
Kimberly, whose winnings are worth $68,001 after taxes, said she plans to spend the money to pay off her student loans and purchase a Mini Cooper.
This isn't the first time lightning has struck twice for a North Carolina resident. Michael Mabe of Belews Creek, N.C., collected his second $100,000 prize in May 2011. He won his first in December 2010.
"Winning one time is awesome. It's a once in a lifetime thing," Mabe told lottery officials. "But winning twice is something special. I'm very grateful."