RALEIGH – Edwin Filsell, a retired truck driver from Wilmington, plans to use the top prize he won playing the new $200,000 Jackpot game to pay off the boat that he and his son purchased and go fishing.

Filsell is the first player to win the game’s $200,000 top prize since it went on sale on Aug. 5. He scratched off the lucky $5 ticket after purchasing it at the Beachway on Carolina Beach Road in Wilmington on Sunday.

“I believe that all you need is one lucky ticket and this one is mine,” Filsell said. “It’s so exciting and hard to believe. It’s a great feeling, even though it still doesn’t feel entirely real.”

After state and federal taxes were withheld, Filsell received a check worth $138,401. As of Friday afternoon, five $200,000 top prizes remain to be claimed in the game.

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 $50 million in lottery funds have made a difference in New Hanover County, click on the “Where the Money Goes” tab on the lottery’s website.