RALEIGH – Deborah Dickerson of Cleveland plans to use the $200,000 prize she won playing the lottery to pay bills and save for the future. She is the third player to scratch off the top prize in the 20X The Cash game.

Dickerson was at home when she realized her $5 ticket was a big winner.
“I was sitting there at my kitchen table and I kept looking at the ticket,” Dickerson said as she collected her winnings. “Even as I sit here, it still hasn’t hit me.”

Dickerson received a check for $136,001 after state and federal taxes were withheld. She purchased her lucky ticket at the County Line Grocery on Campground Road in Statesville. As of Friday afternoon, three top prizes remain to be claimed in the 20X The Cash game.

“I don’t spend money I can’t afford to on lottery tickets,” Dickerson added. “I just play for the fun and entertainment of it. Sometimes you just get lucky, and that’s what happened to me. I feel very fortunate.”

As of June 2013, the lottery has raised more than $2.9 billion to support education programs. Lottery dollars support teachers’ salaries in grades K-3, school construction and repair projects, prekindergarten programs for at-risk four-year-olds, college scholarships and financial aid based on need and digital learning initiatives.

To see how more than $32.5 million in lottery dollars have made a difference in Rowan County, go to the Where the Money Goes webpage at http://www.nc-educationlottery.org/beneficiary.aspx.