RALEIGH- Once a week Cynthia (Cindy) Parrish’s husband Pete buys her a couple of instant scratch-off tickets for her entertainment. Much to her surprise, Cynthia scratched her way to a $1 million prize on one of the two tickets her husband had picked up last Thursday at the Hasty Mart on U.S. Highway 70 East in Smithfield.

“It was the first ticket I scratched and when I saw the prize I whispered to him (Pete) to come over here,” said Parrish. “We were both in disbelief so my husband took the ticket to the retailer to have it scanned.”

The Selma native has received her first check of approximately $34,000 and she will receive a similar check every year for the next 19 years. She says she will use the money to help pay for her daughter’s college tuition. The Parrish’s are hoping their daughter will follow in the family footsteps and go to pharmacy school and eventually work at the family pharmacy— Creech Drug Co., Inc. in Selma.

Cash Spectacular is a $10 game with over $127 million in total prizes, which includes ten top prizes of $1 million. There are nine of the top prizes remaining as of today. Players who scratch their way to win the $1 million prize will be paid in installments of $50,000 (Approximately $34,000 minus state and federal withholdings) over 20 years. The game also is loaded with many more prizes at varying levels.