Charlotte resident Sandra Sumler said she’s dreamed of winning the lottery before, but nothing could have prepared her for the shock she received Friday morning when she claimed the top prize in the $500,000 Anniversary Cash scratch-off game.

“My brother walked in and said ‘We won’ and handed me the ticket,” Sandra said. “I didn’t believe him. I couldn’t stop crying tears of joy.”

Sandra plans to use her winnings, worth $339,874 after taxes, to help her family and her church.

“It probably won’t hit me until later on,” Sandra said as she held her check for the first time. “But it feels good.”

The winning ticket was purchased at the Sav/Way Foods on Central Avenue in Charlotte.

Sumler claimed the final top prize in the $500,000 Anniversary Cash game, but one more second-chance drawing remains. Players who enter their non-winning tickets on the Lucke-Zone website (www.lucke-zone.com) are eligible to win a $25,000 prize, one of five $5,000 prizes, one of 15 $500 prizes or one of 50 $50 prizes. The entry deadline is 11:59 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 14. The drawing date is Tuesday, Oct. 18. All non-winning entries from previous drawings will be included in this final drawing.

From March 30, 2006 through June 30, 2011, Mecklenburg County players won more than $215.5 million in prizes and local retailers earned more than $30.1 million in commissions on ticket sales.

During the same time frame, Mecklenburg County education programs received more than $167.3 million in lottery funds. By law, these funds benefit specific programs. More than $58.1 million paid for 1,173 teacher salaries in grades K-3; more than $24.7 million provided 6,509 prekindergarten opportunities for at-risk four year olds; and more than $11.7 million went to 10,429 need-based college scholarships. Mecklenburg County officials decided how to utilize more than $72.7 million in school construction funds provided by the lottery.

To date, the N.C. Education Lottery has raised more than $2 billion for these initiatives statewide.