RALEIGH – Saturday, Leon Givens was on his way home from babysitting his grandchildren when he stopped at the Express Mart on North Sharon Amity Road. There, he bought a pair of $5 tickets for the $200,000 Cash game. After scratching off the tickets at his kitchen table, Givens was in disbelief when he saw the $200,000 prize amount.

“It was a wonderful experience. No doubt about that,” Givens said as he collected his prize money at headquarters.

Givens, who retired in 2008 after working for 25 years in human resources in Mecklenburg County, said he planned to use his winnings to renovate his house. After state and federal taxes were withheld, he received a check for $136,001.

Through June 30 of last year, Mecklenburg players won more than $215.5 million in lottery prizes and local retailers earned more than $30.1 million in commissions on ticket sales. During the same time frame, Mecklenburg County education programs received more than $167.3 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 $2.2 billion for these initiatives statewide.