RALEIGH – Clariece Hammonds of Chadbourn in Columbus County became the second person to win the top prize in the N.C. Education Lottery’s $4,000,000 Cash Blowout game.

As Hammonds collected her winnings on Tuesday, she had the option of claiming the top prize in annuity payments of $200,000 over a 20 year period or as a discounted lump sum of $2.4 million. Hammonds chose the discounted lump sum and, after taxes were withheld, received $1,632,006. She bought the lucky ticket at the Minuteman Food Mart on JK Powell Boulevard in Whiteville.

As of Tuesday afternoon, one more top prize of $4 million and five prizes of $1 million remain to be claimed in the $20 game.

Since the lottery began through June 30, 2011, Columbus County education programs received more than $15.2 million in lottery funds. By law, those funds pay for teachers’ salaries in grades K-3 to keep class sizes as small as possible, school construction, need-based college scholarships and financial aid and prekindergarten programs for at-risk four-year-olds.