RALEIGH – Robert Daniel of Oxford is the first player to win the $100,000 top prize in the lottery’s new Mega Bucks game.

Daniel was at home when he scratched off the lucky $5 ticket.

“I was shocked,” Daniel said. “I’m going to have fun paying off a bunch of bills. This feels pretty good.”

Daniel purchased the ticket last Tuesday at Bowen’s Mini Mart on N.C. 96 North in Oxford. After state and federal taxes were withheld, he received a check for $69,251.

The Mega Bucks game went on sale on Aug. 4 with 10 top prizes. As of Monday afternoon, nine more 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 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 $18.2 million in lottery funds have made a difference in Granville County, click on the “Where the Money Goes” tab on the lottery’s website.