RALEIGH – Charles Wallace II, a landscaper from Wilmington, said that he plans to take his wife on a honeymoon with the $100,000 he won playing the Mega Bucks game.

“My wife and I have been married for 20 years and we never got to go on a honeymoon,” Wallace said. “Now we can finally make it right. We’re going to take a Caribbean cruise.”

Wallace stopped for gas at the Han-Dee Hugo on North College Road in Wilmington and decided to try his luck.

“I was right outside at the pump when I scratched off the ticket,” Wallace said. “I just started crying tears of joy right then and there. This money will really help my family.”

Wallace said he plans to use a portion of his winnings, worth $68,001 after state and federal taxes were withheld, to pay off his car loans.

Since the lottery began through June 30, 2011, New Hanover County education programs received more than $32.6 million in lottery funds. By law, those funds pay for teachers’ salaries in grades K-3, school construction, prekindergarten programs for at-risk four-year-olds, and college scholarships and financial aid based on need.

To date, the N.C. Education Lottery has raised more than $2.45 billion for these initiatives statewide.