RALEIGH – Ronald P. Banner of Germanton, a retired R.J. Reynolds mechanic, got lucky Tuesday while buying instant tickets and won a $1 million prize in the $200 Million Extravaganza game just in time for his 64th birthday.

Banner, whose birthday is Oct. 18, called his win “a good birthday present.”

Banner went into a friend’s store, the Main Street Lawn, Garden and Hardware in Rural Hall, and decided to try his luck with instant games. He ended up buying four tickets in the $200 Million Extravaganza game and won $25 on the first one and $1 million on the fourth one.

“I needed a little good luck now,” said Banner, a prostate cancer survivor. “ … It shook up my buddy more than it did me. I said, ‘Hey, look here. Take a look at this.’ He kept saying, ‘I can’t believe this.’”

Banner will receive his $1 million prize in payments of $50,000 a year for 20 years. He received his first check, $34,006 after taxes were withheld, on Wednesday. He said he plans to use some of his first payment on a beach trip and to trade for a new car.

The win captured the last of 10 $1 million prizes contained in the game, which started in October 2009. As of today, one top prize of $3 million remains to be won.

From March 30, 2006 through June 30, 2011, Forsyth County players have won more than $114 million in lottery prizes and county retailers have earned more than $15.6 million in commissions on ticket sales.

During the same time period, Forsyth County education programs have received more than $63 million in lottery funds. By law, those funds benefit teacher salaries, school construction, need-based college scholarships and prekindergarten programs.

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