Raleigh – Archdale resident George Heaston is the first player to claim a $200,000 top prize in the King’s Ransom scratch-off game.

“I started shaking when I saw what I had won,” Heaston said. “I even flipped the ticket over a few times to see if the numbers would change. It still doesn’t seem real, but it feels great.”

Heaston purchased the lucky $5 ticket Friday at Pop Shoppe on West Friendly Avenue in Greensboro. After state and federal withholdings, he received a check for $138,501.

The King’s Ransom game went on sale on June 2. As of Monday afternoon, three more $200,000 top prizes remain to be claimed in the game.

Ticket sales made it possible for the lottery to raise more than half a billion dollars for the state last year. North Carolina Education Lottery net proceeds were used last 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 $45.5 million in lottery funds have made a difference in Randolph County, click on the “Where the Money Goes” tab on the lottery’s website.