RALEIGH – Shaileshkumar Patel of Sanford plans to use the $1 million prize he won playing the $1,000,000 Jackpot game to pay bills and save for his son’s education. Patel scratched off the lucky ticket at the Value Mart on Carthage Street in Sanford, a convenience store he has owned since 2006.

“I was shocked,” Patel said of the moment he realized he’d won the $10 game’s top prize. “My mind went blank and I couldn’t think for a few moments. It’s a great feeling to win. I’m so happy.”

Winners of $1 million in the game have the option of claiming it in $50,000 payments as a 20-year annuity or a one-time lump sum of $600,000. Patel took the lump sum option. He received a check worth $415,203 after taxes were withheld.

As of Friday afternoon, four $1 million top prizes and three $100,000 prizes remain to be claimed in the game.

Ticket sales have made it possible for the lottery to raise more than $3.4 billion for the state. North Carolina Education Lottery net proceeds will be used this year to help pay salaries of teachers and teacher assistants, for pre-kindergarten programs for at-risk four-year-olds, school construction and repair, and need-based college scholarships and financial aid.

For details on how more than $21 million in lottery funds have made a difference in Lee County, click on the “Where the Money Goes” tab on the lottery’s website.