RALEIGH – For a second time, good luck has come to Keith McClintock on a lottery ticket he bought at Tommy’s Mini Mart on Cole Mill Road in Durham. In April 2012, the Durham man scratched his way to $150,000 on a $5 Aces High ticket. This time, his good fortune came on a $10 Holiday Gold ticket – to the tune of $1 million.

“When I won, it was like ‘Oh my God – $1 million,’” recalled McClintock, who lives in the Orange County section of Durham. “It’s amazing.”

Top prize winners in the Holiday Gold game can choose to claim the $1 million prize in annual payments of $50,000 for 20 years or elect to receive a one-time cash payment of $600,000. McClintock chose the lump sum and, after required state and federal withholdings, received a check for $415,203.

McClintock, a small business owner, said that his first win enabled his family to pay for his daughter to attend college, take care of medical expenses, and buy new cars. While he’s still contemplating what to do with another windfall, he has at least one project in mind.

“A couple weeks ago I was talking with my wife about redoing the kitchen,” he said. “So I’m pretty sure that’s at the top of the list.”

Although McClintock has twice beaten the odds to win big prizes, he plans to keep playing the lottery. “Maybe I’ll get the trifecta,” he said.

McClintock said that whether he wins or not he is glad to know the money raised by the lottery benefits education. “It’s a great cause,’ he added.

The Holiday Gold game went on sale in November with three top prizes of $1 million. McClintock claimed the third and final top prize in the game.

Ticket sales for games such as Holiday Gold have made it possible for the lottery to raise more than $3 billion for education programs statewide. For details on how more than $33.3 million in lottery funds have made a difference in Orange County, click on the “Where the Money Goes” tab on the lottery’s website.