RALEIGH – Barbara Hall stopped Friday night at the Wilco on South Madison Street in Whiteville to buy gas – and came away with much more.

Hall, who said she only plays lottery games occasionally, decided to buy two tickets for the $5 Green & Gold game because it was new. As she scratched the second ticket in the store, she saw the $150,000 prize.

“The store clerk heard I was excited. She said, ‘Oh my God, you’re a big winner!’” Hall recalled. “I said, ‘I am.’”

Hall, who lives in Whiteville, called her husband right away to share the good news.

“I just won $150,000,” Hall told him. “He didn’t believe me.”

As she claimed her prize money at lottery headquarters in Raleigh Monday, Hall said that the after-tax winnings of $103,801 would allow her to pay off what she owes on her house and land. Hall added that she always planned to travel if she won the lottery.

“It just feels good,” she said.

The Green & Gold instant game started Feb. 4 with five top prizes of $150,000. It is the first ticket in North Carolina to feature a “Back Scratch” feature that allows players to try their luck on both sides of the ticket. As of Monday afternoon, three top prizes – and many more prizes – remain to be claimed in the game.

Ticket sales have made it possible for the lottery to raise more than $3.19 billion for education programs statewide. For details on how more than $21.2 million in lottery funds have made a difference in Columbus County, click on the “Where the Money Goes” tab on the lottery’s website.