RALEIGH – Jose Herrera was spending Sunday night at home in Winston-Salem when he gave a few dollars to one of his friends, whom he considers lucky, to buy lottery tickets at the A-1 Grocery on Academy Street. When his friend returned, Herrera scratched off a $5 Mega Bucks ticket and got a “mega” surprise: he won $100,000.

It's the second big lottery win for Herrera, who works as a hazardous materials technician, in less than four months. In September, he won $5,000 instantly playing $500,000 Anniversary Cash.

On Friday, Herrera collected his winnings at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. He said he planned to share his prize money, worth $63,000 after taxes, with his family. He also said that he was considering a trip to Florida and taking his girlfriend out to dinner.

Since the lottery began through June 30, 2011, Forsyth County players won more than $114.8 million in prizes and local retailers earned more than $15.6 million in commissions on ticket sales. During the same time frame, Forsyth County education programs received more than $63.7 million in lottery funds. By law, those funds pay for teachers' salaries, school construction, need-based college scholarships, and at-risk prekindergarten programs.

To date, the N.C. Education Lottery has raised more than $2.11 billion for these initiatves statewide.