RALEIGH – Jamie Godfrey of Salter Path plans to use the $750,000 he won playing Jumbo Bucks to save for his daughter’s college fund and invest for the future.
Godfrey scratched off the lucky $10 ticket after purchasing it at Kangaroo Express on East Fort Macon Road in Atlantic Beach last Monday.

“I was scratching the ticket and it was like time stopped,” Godfrey said. “It was a heart-dropping moment, just a life-changing thing. I asked the clerk to scan it for me and she told me I had to claim my prize at the lottery office. Then she gave me a high five.”

After state and federal taxes were collected, Godfrey received a check for $519,003.

“This feels absolutely wonderful,” Godfrey said as he collected his winnings. “This money is a blessing and I’m going to make it work for me. It’s unbelievable.”

Ticket sales have made it possible for the lottery to raise more than $3.19 billion for education programs statewide. Net proceeds are used for prekindergarten programs for at-risk four-year-olds, teachers’ salaries in grades K-3, school construction and need-based college scholarships and financial aid and digital learning.

For details on how more than $15.3 million in lottery funds have made a difference in Carteret County, click on the “Where the Money Goes” tab on the lottery’s website.