Several twists and turns had to occur for Chad Beach on his way to work Thursday morning before the Chuckey, Tenn. resident would wind up sitting at lottery headquarters in Raleigh and getting a $100,000 lottery prize.

Beach, a railroad worker, was traveling to a Raleigh worksite with two co-workers in their truck when they ran into congestion on the Raleigh Beltline and had to detour. Then, when they needed a bathroom break, the driver missed a first exit and they found a second store, the Five Points Family Fare on Glenwood Avenue, to stop. As Beach reached for a $5 bill he thought he had to play the lottery, he saw he only had a $10 and decided to buy two Mega Bucks tickets, not just one.

So it was the second ticket – the one he didn’t plan to buy - at the store - which he didn’t plan to stop at - on the route – that he hadn’t planned to travel - that let Beach beat the odds and win the top prize in the Mega Bucks instant prize.

Beach sat at the lottery shaking his head as he and his co-workers described the series of events that led to the win. “If I had had that $5 bill and brought only one, I would not have won,” he said.

Beach, who owns two Great Danes, said the prize means his wife will let him get a third. “She told me, if you ever win the lottery, you can buy another one,” he said. “So I hit the lottery, and I’m going to buy a new dog.”

After taxes were withheld, Beach received a check for $69,251. He said in addition to the dog he would use some of his winnings to pay bills.

“It’s nice,” Beach said. “I know that when I look at my bank account, it will finally sink in for me. And when my wife sees the new dog, it will sink it for her.”

Ticket sales have made it possible for the lottery to raise more than $3.8 billion for the state. 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, for school construction and repair, and need-based college scholarships and financial aid.

For details on how lottery funds have made a difference for specific education programs across the state, click on the “Where the Money Goes” tab on the lottery’s website.