RALEIGH – Ann Beaver of Rockwell plans to pay off her mortgage after scratching off the $200,000 top prize on her 20X The Cash ticket.

Beaver learned of her big win on Wednesday at Charlie’s Food Mart on Faith Road in Salisbury, where she bought the lucky ticket.

“I thought I was seeing things,” Beaver said. “My heart was going: Boom. Boom. Boom. I got in the car and cried all the way home. I never thought it would be me that won big like this. I always figured that this was something that happened to other people.”

After state and federal taxes were withheld, Beaver received a check for $136,001. As of Friday morning, two more $200,000 prizes remain to be claimed in the $5 20X The Cash game.

“I can already feel the weight being lifted,” Beaver said as she received her winnings. “My house is paid for. I’m very blessed.”

As of September 2013, the lottery has raised more than $3 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.