RALEIGH – Henry Bunn of Spring Hope is the first player in the state to win the $1 million top prize in the Holiday Gold game.

Bunn said he plans to use the prize money to pay off his mortgage. He purchased his lucky ticket at the Dash-IN on North Arendell Avenue in Zebulon on Wednesday.

Top prize winners in the Holiday Gold game can elect to receive annual payments of $50,000 for 20 years or take a lump sum cash option of $600,000. Bunn chose the cash option and received a check for $408,003 after state and federal taxes were withheld.

Two of the top prizes remain to be claimed in the game as of Thursday afternoon. Holiday Gold, a $10 game, is part of the lottery’s holiday-themed suite of instant scratch-off games that went on sale Nov. 5. The other four games are Jingle Big Ol’ Bucks, Mistletoe Bingo, Winner Green and Holiday Cash.

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 $12.4 million in lottery dollars have made a difference in Franklin County, go to the Where the Money Goes webpage at http://www.nc-educationlottery.org/beneficiary.aspx.