A split-second decision to buy a lottery ticket turned into a lucky one for Dylan Hudson of Oak Island after he won $250,000 playing the new $250,000 Fortune scratch-off game.

“I just went to get a tank of gas and decided to get a ticket,” Hudson said.

The construction worker is the first person to claim a top prize in the game.

“I was really excited,” Hudson said. “I was so excited I couldn’t sleep last night.”

Hudson bought the ticket late Thursday night and less than twenty four hours later claimed his prize at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After federal and state tax withholdings, he took home $173,126. He plans to use some of the money to get a new truck.

Hudson bought the $5 ticket at the Market Express on Seaside Road in Sunset Beach.

$250,000 Fortune began this month with five top prizes of $250,000. Four top prizes remain.

Ticket sales from games like $250,000 Fortune made it possible for the lottery to raise more than half a billion dollars for the state last year. For details on how over $33.1 million in lottery funds has made a difference in Brunswick County, click on the “For Education” section of the lottery’s website.