RALEIGH – A Guilford County man is the third player to win $200,000 playing an Extreme Green scratch-off ticket. William Sharon of Stokesdale won the top prize in the game after his adult daughter bought the ticket for him as “an early birthday present.”

Sharon’s daughter purchased the winning ticket, worth $136,001 after taxes, at the King’s Crossing BP on N.C. 68 in Stokesdale. As he claimed his prize money at lottery headquarters in Raleigh, Sharon said he planned to share some of his winnings with his family.

Since the lottery began through June 30, 2010, Guilford County players won more than $187.1 million in prizes and local retailers earned more than $24.2 million in commissions on ticket sales.

During the same time frame, Guilford education programs received more than $102.1 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 initiatives statewide.