RALEIGH – Melissa Hink, an office assistant from Old Fort in McDowell County, is the first player to win the top prize in the N.C. Education Lottery’s new Wheel of Fortune scratch-off game. She purchased her ticket when she stopped for gas on Friday after taking her daughter to the airport. Hink learned of her win when she scratched off the ticket and asked the clerk to scan it.

“I asked if they could verify that I had won,” Hink said. “The clerk said ‘Wow’ and then everyone in the store started asking ‘How much? How much?’ I called home and said I thought I was having a heart attack. Stuff like this doesn’t happen to us. It’s just a total shock.”

Hink plans to deposit her winnings, worth $68,001 after taxes, into her bank account. She purchased her winning ticket at the I Market on Trade Street in Dallas. Even after her big win, Hink says she will still continue to play lottery games.

“I’ll buy a ticket once in a while,” Hink added. “My two kids in college both received lottery scholarships and every little bit helps.”

As of Monday, four more top prizes remain to be claimed in the Wheel of Fortune game.

From March 30, 2006 through June 30, 2010, McDowell County players have won more than $10.8 million in lottery prizes and county retailers have earned more than $1.4 million in commissions on ticket sales.

During the same time period, McDowell County education programs have received more than $6.1 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.