RALEIGH – Johnny Daughtry’s win in the $500 a Week for Life! game makes him the biggest winner in Hertford County history. He said he plans to use his winnings to buy a new home and purchase a Dodge Charger for his fiancé.

Daughtry scratched off the lucky $1 ticket on Wednesday night while pumping gas at the Wilco on Academy Street in Ahoskie.

“I originally thought I’d just won a dollar,” said Daughtry. “When I saw the actual prize, it blew my mind. Best dollar I’ve ever spent. It changed my life big time.”

The game is part of a family of four instant games that the Education Lottery always has on sale. The tickets are available for $1, $2, $5 and $10 per game and include prizes of as much as $5,000 a week for life. Winners can choose from one of two options to collect their winnings. A top prize is structured in annual payments that continue for a winner’s entire life. The guaranteed value of the prize is at least 20 years of payments to a winner or his designated estate. Top prize winners can also choose to claim their winnings as a lump sum with a cash value equal to the guaranteed prize amount.

The $500 a Week for Life! top prize guarantees winners an annual prize of $26,000 for the rest of their lives. The winner can also choose a lump sum cash prize, worth $354,000, instead of the annuity. Daughtry chose the lump sum option and received a check for $244,968 after state and federal taxes were withheld. He said he plans to use a portion of his winnings to share with his family.

“I’m going to put a smile on my family’s face this Christmas,” Daughtry said. “It’s a great feeling.”

Daughtry is the second player to claim the top prize in the latest version of the $500 A Week for Life! game. As of Thursday, one more top prize remains to be claimed.

Ticket sales have made it possible for the lottery to raise more than $3.5 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 $9.1 million in lottery funds have made a difference in Hertford County, click on the “Where the Money Goes” tab on the lottery’s website.