RALEIGH – Todd Edge, an insulation contractor from Fayetteville, plans to use the $1 million he won playing the $4,000,000 Gold Bullion game to invest in his business by paying off the mortgage on his office building.

Edge scratched off his lucky $20 ticket on Wednesday morning at Ms. Sudy’s Country Store on Clinton Road in Fayetteville.

“Everybody in the store started freaking out when they heard what I had won,” Edge said as he collected his winnings. “They were hugging and congratulating me. I’ve always wanted to come to Raleigh to claim a big prize. Now that I’m here, it hasn’t really sunk in.”

Players who win $1 million in the $4,000,000 Gold Bullion game can choose to claim the prize in annual payments of $50,000 for 20 years or elect to receive a one-time cash payment of $600,000. Edge chose the lump sum and, after required state and federal withholdings, received a check for $415,206.

Edge plans to use a portion of his winnings to start a college fund for his grandchildren. As of Thursday morning, one $4 million prize and two $1 million prizes remain to be claimed in the game.

“It feels real now,” Edge said as he held his check for the first time. “It’s real and it feels good.”

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 $115.8 million in lottery funds have made a difference in Cumberland County, click on the “Where the Money Goes” tab on the lottery’s website.