Long-standing agreement between brother and sister holds real weight

By Kate Northrop

SANFORD, N.C. — A North Carolina sister remained true to her word after buying a lottery ticket that turned out to be worth $200,000 and voluntarily splitting the winnings with her brother.

Two North Carolina siblings are sharing the glory of winning a $200,000 prize in the lottery after one of them struck it big on a scratch-off ticket.

Years ago, Ivan Barrett of Goldston and Beverly Berryman of Sanford made a promise to each other that they would share the winnings of a prize should either of them hit it big in the lottery.

"We always had a pact between us," Barrett told the North Carolina Lottery.

Berryman's loyalty to the agreement was tested and proven true when Lady Luck decided it was her turn to hit the literal jackpot.

While at Prince Mart on Wilson Road in Sanford Berryman purchased a $5 "Cash King" scratch-off ticket and took it out to the parking lot to play it.

"I was in shock," she recalled upon seeing the result.

Promise in-mind, Berryman called her brother to share the news.

"I was like, 'You can't believe this,'" she continued. "I had to show it to him."

Both Berryman and Barrett showed up at Lottery headquarters in Raleigh to claim the $200,000 top prize on Friday. They split the prize down the middle to claim a $100,000 share each and took home $72,011 after state and federal taxes.

With her share of the winnings, Berryman plans on completing some work on her house, while Barrett intends on paying off his car.

The siblings claimed the second top prize of $200,000 in the $5 "Cash King" scratch-off game, leaving two out of four top prizes remaining. There are also six out of eight second-tier prizes of $10,000 and 30 out of 40 third-tier prizes of $1,000 left to win.

The overall odds of winning any prize in the game, which launched in January, are 1 in 4.32.