Melissa Gray of Wilson is counting her blessings this Thanksgiving, especially her decision not to get rid of a lottery ticket worth $150,000.

“I scratched the first row and thought I didn’t win anything,” Gray said.

She was going to throw the Holiday Riches ticket away, but decided to check her ticket one more time when she got home. That’s when she saw the $150,000 prize.

“I can’t believe I almost passed it over,” she said.

Once Gray realized she had a winning ticket, she quickly put it in a safe place.

“I hid it in a VHS tape,” Gray said. “Because if someone is going to steal something, they aren’t going to take a VHS tape.”

She kept it there until she could claim her prize Monday at lottery headquarters. After required state and federal tax withholdings, she took home $103,876. She plans to put the money in savings.

Gray bought the $5 ticket at the Fresh Mart on ACC Drive in Wilson.

Gray is the first player to win the top $150,000 prize since the game launched earlier this month. Two top prizes remain.

Ticket sales from games like Holiday Riches made it possible for the lottery to raise more than $634 million for the state last year. For details on how more than $31.3 million in lottery funds has made a difference in Wilson County, click on the “For Education” section of the lottery’s website.