RALEIGH – Wendy Gibson, a medical coder from Raeford, plans to use the $250,000 prize she won playing the $250,000 Cash Money game to save for the future.

Gibson purchased her lucky $5 ticket on Monday at the ALCO on Rockfish Road in Raeford. She and her husband learned of their big win while sitting at their kitchen table.

“My husband scratched it off and threw the penny on the ground,” Gibson said as she collected her winnings. “I knew it must have been a big one. Then we looked at it together and it was real.”

After state and federal taxes were withheld, Gibson received $173,001. She said she may use a portion of her winnings to buy a new outfit and take a beach vacation.

“It’s nice to know we have this as a nest egg,” Gibson added. “It’s not going to change who we are, but it’s going to give us a lot less to worry about.”

Four more top prizes remain to be claimed in the $250,000 Cash Money game.

As of December 2013, the lottery has raised more than $3.19 billion to support education programs. Lottery dollars support teachers’ salaries in grades K-3, school construction and repair projects, prekindergarten programs for at-risk four-year-olds, need-based college scholarships and financial aid and digital learning initiatives.

To see how more than $18.8 million in lottery dollars have made a difference in Hoke County, go to the Where the Money Goes webpage at http://www.nc-educationlottery.org/beneficiary.aspx.