RALEIGH – Glenda Hammiel of Enfield is the first player to win the $100,000 top prize in the lottery’s new Cold Hard Cash game.

Hammiel scratched off the lucky ticket Friday morning after purchasing it at Keeter’s Convenient Mart on West Bryant Street.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Hammiel said. “It feels good. Just a real blessing.”

Hammiel plans to use a portion of her winnings, worth $68,001 after state and federal taxes were withheld, to help her family and pay off her auto loan. Four more $100,000 prizes remain to be claimed in the $5 Cold Hard Cash game.

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 $17.4 million in lottery dollars have made a difference in Halifax County, go to the Where the Money Goes webpage at http://www.nc-educationlottery.org/beneficiary.aspx.