RALEIGH – Francisco Licona, a construction worker from Charlotte, is the fifth and final player to claim the $100,000 top prize in the Ultimate Crossword game.
He scratched off the lucky $5 ticket after purchasing it at Petro Express on Wilkinson Boulevard in Charlotte. After state and federal taxes were withheld, Licona received a check worth $69,201.
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 $254.6 million in lottery funds have made a difference in Mecklenburg County, click on the “Where the Money Goes” tab on the lottery’s website.