After serving more than seven years in the Marines, Lance Corporal Jacob Yount of Jacksonville is making a major change, and he’ll do it with the prize of a lifetime.

On Friday, Yount is leaving The Marines. Thanks to a last minute decision to buy a Lucky for Life ticket, he’ll have the game’s second prize of $25,000 a Year for Life to start this new chapter.

When Yount realized he bought a winning ticket for Monday night’s drawing, he couldn’t wait to tell someone.

“I was so excited I had to wake my girlfriend up,” Yount said. “She of course didn’t believe me.”

That changed when he claimed his prize Wednesday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. Players who win the game’s top prize of $1,000 a Day for Life or the second prize of $25,000 a Year for Life can collect the payment for as long as they live. Yount also had the option of getting a lump sum of $390,000. He chose the cash option. After federal and state tax withholdings, he took home $270,075. He plans to use some of the money to buy a house.

Yount bought the $2 Quick Pick ticket at the Walmart on Western Boulevard in Jacksonville. He matched all five white balls, beating the odds of 1.8 million to win the game’s second prize.

This is the 4th time in two months that a ticket sold in North Carolina has won the $25,000 a Year for Life prize.

Lucky for Life launched in February and is North Carolina’s third multi-state draw game. In all there are 10 ways to win a prize playing the game. Drawings are held every Monday and Thursday night.

Ticket sales from games like Lucky for Life made it possible for the lottery to raise more than half a billion dollars for the state last year. For details on how over $67.3 million in lottery funds has made a difference in Onslow County, click on the “For Education” section of the lottery’s website.