RALEIGH – Alvin Shaw of Fayetteville claimed a $100,000 lottery prize on Monday, which happens to be his wedding anniversary. Thanks to his good luck, Shaw said, he might take his wife on a cruise.

“It’s exciting to win,” he said. “Maybe once in a lifetime.”

Shaw purchased a $5 ticket for the Crossword 10X game at the Wilco on N.C. 42 West in Garner. He scratched it off at home to see how many words in the puzzle contained his letters – and realized he won $100,000.

“Words started to jump out,” he recalled. “I wrote them down and counted. I said, ‘Wow, I got six!’ Then my heart started beating faster.”

Shaw found that his letters spelled four more words for a total of 10, automatically winning him the $100,000 top prize. With his claim, three more top prizes remain to be claimed in the game, which started last week.

A North Carolina native and pipefitter of 32 years, Shaw said that he’d use a portion of his after-tax winnings of $69,201 to save for retirement.

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 $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.