RALEIGH – Jerry Lea of Burlington is the first player to win $100,000 playing the Jingle Big Ol’ Bucks game.

Lea was standing in the parking lot of Cindy’s Food Mart on Roxboro Road in Haw River when he scratched his lucky ticket.

“I uncovered a couple of zeroes and I just felt numb,” Lea said. “It didn’t seem real. I still can’t believe it.”

Lea said he plans to use a portion of his winnings, worth $68,001, to help his family and save for the future.

Three more $100,000 prizes remain to be claimed in the $5 Jingle Big Ol’ Bucks game as of Wednesday morning.

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 $40.5 million in lottery dollars have made a difference in Alamance County, go to the Where the Money Goes webpage at http://www.nc-educationlottery.org/beneficiary.aspx.