RALEIGH – David Brantley came to lottery headquarters in Raleigh Monday morning to get a big check for $750,000. He said he would return home to Henderson with another prize he has always wanted.

“In 68 years I’ve had cars, but I’ve never had a new car,” the Vietnam veteran said. “Wiley David Brantley is going to get a brand-new Ford pick-up truck.”

Brantley’s story of good luck started in his hometown Saturday morning – a “cloudy, miserable” day, he recalled. But, after a stop for gas and two Jumbo Bucks tickets at the Minute Shoppe on N.C. 39, the gloomy weather faded when he scratched off the first ticket and saw how much he won.

“$750,000!” he exclaimed. “I haven’t won $750,000! That doesn’t happen to me!”

Brantley, a North Carolina native, said his after-tax winnings of $521,016 will make it possible for him to buy a house with a garage for his new truck, and to share with his four grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

With Brantley’s win, two top prizes of $750,000 remain to be claimed in the Jumbo Bucks game.

Ticket sales make it possible for the lottery to raise more than half a billion dollars a year for education. To see how the funds support specific programs in every county, visit nclottery.com and click on the “For Education” page.