N.C. Lottery Winner Initially Thought Someone Else Had Won $723K Jackpot: 'Cried All the Way Home'

"It's a life-changing amount of money," Cynthia Neely said of the jackpot

Talk about a reversal of fortune.

When Cynthia Neely of Gold Hill, North Carolina, checked her lottery tickets, she was disappointed to see she hadn't won.

“When I got in the truck and saw my first ticket said the jackpot was back to $20,000, I thought, 'Oh darn, somebody already won the jackpot,'" Neely said in a Monday news release from the N.C. Education Lottery.

But when she took a closer look, her disappointment quickly turned to exhilaration when she realized she'd indeed won the $723,755 jackpot.

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Related: N.C. Woman Buys First Home and Wins $1 Million Lottery Prize a Week Later: 'It Was Unreal'

“I had to convince myself that I had the winning ticket. It is a life-changing amount of money,” she said, adding that she "cried all the way home" after the exciting turn of events.

Neely purchased her winning $10 Fast Play ticket on July 7 at a Kangaroo Express convenience store in Rockwell, about 40 miles northeast of Charlotte. Since she bought a $10 ticket, she received 100% of the progressive jackpot, according to the lottery.

On Friday, she collected her prize, taking home $515,678 after state and federal tax withholdings.

Related: Michigan Man Wins His Second Big Lottery Prize in 10 Years: 'It’s Hard to Believe'

Neely has big plans now that she's more than half a million dollars richer. "I’m going to try to talk my husband into retiring soon,” she said.

She also plans to give some of the money to her church, invest and possibly take a trip with her spouse.

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