RALEIGH – Michael Rowles of Fayetteville stopped Thursday afternoon at the Kangaroo Express on Ramsey Street to refill his drink. He walked in thirsty – and walked out lucky.

Rowles, who currently works as a property maintenance supervisor, said he had a little extra cash in his pocket and decided to try his luck on five $5 tickets for the $200,000 Extreme Cash game. He scratched them off in his truck outside the store. Rowles was stunned to win $200,000 on one ticket.

“I didn’t believe it,” he recalled. “I thought it was a joke. It’s no joke.”

Rowles came to lottery headquarters Friday afternoon to collect his prize money. He said that his after-tax winnings of $138,401 would allow him and his wife to pay off their mortgage. Rowles also said that, after driving the same reliable Ford Ranger since 1993, he planned to buy a new set of wheels.

“A 2014 Chevy Silverado 1500,” he said. “Already picked out the color and everything. Champagne.”

Rowles, who is retired from active duty after 24 years in the Army, is the second veteran to claim a major lottery prize in the week leading up to Memorial Day weekend. On Tuesday, Vietnam War Veteran Terry McLamb of Wake Forest won the top prize playing the lottery’s $1,000 a Week for Life! game. McLamb said that he planned to donate some of his winnings to a veteran’s group in honor of Memorial Day.

Rowles’ $200,000 prize was the last of four top prizes in the $200,000 Extreme Cash game, which started last May.

Ticket sales have made it possible for the lottery to raise more than $3.3 billion for the state. Net proceeds are used for prekindergarten programs for at-risk four-year-olds, teachers’ salaries in grades K-3, school construction, digital learning initiatives, need-based college scholarships and financial aid.

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.