RALEIGH – Robert Phillips, a retiree from Jacksonville, plans to use the $1 million he won playing the new $1,000,000 Jackpot game to pay off his mortgage, his auto loan and take a vacation.

Phillips scratched off the lucky $10 ticket after purchasing it at the Scotchman on Western Boulevard in Jacksonville on Thursday night.

“I can’t believe how blessed I am,” Phillips said. “I believe that if you give with your heart, it will come back to you. That’s how I try to live my life. I feel elated. This is a big load off of my shoulders.”

Winners of $1 million in the game have the option of claiming it in $50,000 payments as a 20-year annuity or a one-time lump sum of $600,000. Phillips took the cash payment and received a check for $415,203 after state and federal taxes were withheld.

Phillips is the first player to win a $1 million prize in the game. As of Friday afternoon, five $1 million top prizes and four $100,000 prizes remain to be claimed.

Ticket sales have made it possible for the lottery to raise more than $3.4 billion for the state. North Carolina Education Lottery net proceeds will be used this year to help pay salaries of teachers and teacher assistants, for pre-kindergarten programs for at-risk four-year-olds, school construction and repair, and need-based college scholarships and financial aid.

For details on how more than $47 million in lottery funds have made a difference in Onslow County, click on the “Where the Money Goes” tab on the lottery’s website.