RALEIGH – Carlton Turpin, a resident of Morganton in Burke County, says he plans to use the $1 million he won on a Maximum Green ticket to buy a new vehicle and live a better life.

“I’ve been saying this is the year I’m going to hit it, and here I am today,” Turpin said. “This is a lot of money. It will absolutely change my life for the better. I feel like a million bucks.”

Top prize winners in the Maximum Green game have the option of claiming their prize as a 20 year annuity, or as a lump sum. Turpin chose the $600,000 lump sum, which had an after-tax value of $408,003. As of Monday, five more top prizes of $1 million remain to be claimed in the Maximum Green game. He purchased the winning ticket on Sunday morning at the Fast Stop on U.S. 70 West in Valdese.

“With the lottery, we’ve been building new schools,” Turpin said as he collected his winnings. “It’s been a windfall for the education system, and you can see it in Burke County.”

Since the lottery began through June 30, 2011, Burke County education programs received more than $19.8 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 need-based college scholarships and financial aid.

To date, the N.C. Education Lottery has raised more than $2.35 billion for these initiatives statewide.