RALEIGH – Michael Williams, a chef from Asheville, said he woke up the Saturday before last in a good mood. Before the day would end, he’d have the good fortune to win $150,000 playing the lottery.

Williams was sitting in his “lucky spot” on the couch where he used his “lucky coin” to scratch off a $5 Trucks & Bucks ticket. He called to his girlfriend, Susan Peterson, to tell her he won a big prize.

“Did you win $4,000 again?” she asked. Last year, Williams won that amount playing the $4,000,000 Multiplier Spectacular game.

“I did a little better than that,” he responded, and showed her the ticket.

“Wow, that says $150,000!” Peterson said.

The couple embraced and celebrated the moment.

“It was like being on top of the world,” Williams recalled.

Williams said it is rewarding to be in service to seniors as a chef in a nursing home. With his $103,876 in after-tax winnings, Williams said he will be able to buy his first home.

Williams bought his winning ticket at Green’s Mini Mart on Depot Street in Asheville. One more $150,000 prize remains to be claimed in the game.

Besides the chance to win instantly, players can enter Trucks & Bucks tickets into a second-chance drawing for a chance to win their choice of a 2015 Chevrolet® Silverado™ 1500, Ford F-150 or Dodge Ram 1500. Two players have already won new sets of wheels. The third and final draw date has yet to be announced. Tickets must be entered online at Lucke-Zone.com.

Ticket sales made it possible for the lottery to raise more than half a billion for the state last year. For details on how $58 million in lottery funds have made a difference in Buncombe County, click on the “Where the Money Goes” tab on the lottery’s website.