RALEIGH – The savings account of Jeff Farrington of West Jefferson just got a lot bigger after he won a quarter of a million dollars playing the Mega Millions game.

Farrington’s win came with a ticket purchased at the JP Wilkesboro on U.S. 421 in Wilkesboro that matched all five white balls in the Feb. 10 Mega Millions drawing. After taxes were withheld, he received $170,000.

“Sit on it right now and be smart,” said Farrington, a forklift driver for Tyson Foods, of his plans for his winnings. “Just put it in the bank.”

Farrington says he plays Mega Millions and Powerball every week. He discovered his win about three days after the drawing when he looked up the winning numbers on his home computer. He was one of two North Carolina Mega Millions players who won $250,000 in the drawing. The other winner was Mike Bollinger, a police officer and EMT from Maiden in Catawba County.

“You feel good,” Farrington said of his good luck. “There is no doubt about it. … I’m just thankful.”

Through June 30 of last year, Ashe County players won more than $5.5 million in lottery prizes and education programs in the county received more than $5.3 million in lottery funds. By law, those funds pay for teachers’ salaries, school construction, need-based college scholarships and prekindergarten programs for at-risk four-year-olds.

To date, the N.C. Education Lottery has raised more than $2.2 billion for these initiatives statewide.