RALEIGH – Carl Boyd, a grain farmer from Roxboro, won $1 million playing the Ruby Red 7’s game and said he will share his good luck with his mother and sister by paying off their mortgages.

“I had just gotten done moving some hay with a friend,” Boyd said. “I said ‘I’m going to scratch off this ticket and see if my luck’s changed.’ I scratched off a black seven and saw it was a million dollar prize. I was out of breath. It still hasn’t hit me entirely. It doesn’t seem real.”

Boyd could have claimed the $1 million prize in annuity payments of $50,000 a year for 20 years, but he chose a $600,000 cash option. He plans to use a portion of his winnings, worth $408,003 after taxes were withheld, to save for retirement and invest in his farm.

As of Thursday morning, one top prize remains to be claimed in the Ruby Red 7’s game. Boyd purchased his lucky ticket at Mayo Marina Mart on Virgilina Road in Roxboro on Wednesday.

Since the lottery began through June 30, 2012, Person County education programs received more than $9.1 million in lottery funds. By law, those funds pay for teachers’ salaries in grades K-3, school construction, prekindergarten programs for at-risk four-year-olds, and college scholarships and financial aid based on need.

To date, the N.C. Education Lottery has raised more than $2.8 billion for these initiatives statewide.