RALEIGH – A Durham man says he’ll pay off his house after winning $100,000 instantly the day before Thanksgiving. This morning, Joseph Blue bought a High Roller ticket for $5 at the Han-Dee Hugo on West Club Boulevard in Durham. He scratched it at home, revealing that he won the top prize.

“I didn’t believe it,” he recalled. “That’s 21 there and 21 here – that’s it. I finally hit the jackpot.”

Blue called his adult son to share the good news and that they would be heading to Raleigh to collect the prize at lottery headquarters.

Blue, who retired from management in the telecommunications industry, said he plans to first pay off his house. After that, he may vacation to Atlantic City and travel to visit family, he said. After state and federal taxes were withheld, Blue received a check for $68,001.

The High Roller game launched Nov. 30 of last year with six top prizes of $100,000. Blue’s win marks the fifth, after players from Winterville, Magnolia, Grantsboro and Walstonburg also claimed top prizes. One $100,000 prize remains unclaimed as of Wednesday afternoon.

Since the lottery began through June 30 of this year, Durham players won more than $102.4 million in prizes and local retailers earned more than $13.3 million in commissions on ticket sales.

During the same time frame, Durham County education programs received more than $40.1 million in lottery funds. By law, those funds pay for teachers’ salaries, school construction projects, at-risk prekindergarten, and need-based college scholarships. To date, the N.C. Education Lottery has raised more than $2.1 billion for these initiatives statewide.