When Scott Furr of Charlotte tries his luck with the lottery, his practice is to buy a $5 scratcher at the first of the month as new games begin. He figures that is when the odds are most in his favor.

So on Wednesday, at lunchtime, Furr stopped by the Speedway Xpress Mart on Morehead Road in Concord and bought one of the new Merry Mega Bucks tickets. Then, sitting in his truck in a parking lot behind his office, he played the game and found out his practice paid off with a $100,000 win.

Furr, a freight broker, became the first person to win one of three top prizes in the holiday-themed game that just went on sale this week. Two $100,000 prizes remain to be claimed in the game.

“It was surreal,” Furr said Thursday as he collected his prize at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. “Couldn’t believe it. Still can’t. But it felt like it was a prayer answered.”

After federal and state tax withholdings, Furr received $69,251. He said he planned to pay off bills, put aside some for savings, go on a vacation with his girlfriend, take family and friends out for a nice dinner, and do a few good deeds.

“We’re going to have a good Christmas for everybody,” Furr said.

Ticket sales made it possible for the lottery to raise more than half a billion dollars for the state last year. For details on how $297 million in lottery funds have made a difference in Mecklenburg County, click on the “Where the Money Goes” tab on the lottery’s website.