RALEIGH – Royce Hatch, a resident of Leicester in Buncombe County, said he plans to use the $1 million he won playing the Millionaire Jingle Bucks game to buy a truck and maybe a new house.

Hatch, who has worked in construction for 20 years, is the third and final player to win the $10 game’s top prize. He scratched off the lucky ticket on Monday after purchasing it at the Fastrac Food Mart on Old Leicester Highway in Asheville.

“I scratched it off at the gas station and just couldn’t believe it,” Hatch recalled. “It didn’t seem real. I’m still waiting to wake up.”

A $1 million prize in the game can be claimed in 20 annuity payments of $50,000, or a one-time payment of $600,000. Hatch opted for the lump sum, worth $415,203 after required state and federal withholdings.

“It’s starting to feel real now,” Hatch said as he collected his winnings on Tuesday. “It’s a pretty good feeling.”

Ticket sales make it possible for the lottery to raise more than half a billion a year to support education programs. 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 $58.2 million in lottery funds have made a difference for specific education programs in Buncombe County, click on the “Where the Money Goes” tab on the lottery’s website.