Christopher Cleary of Apex is celebrating after he won a $25,000 A Year For Life prize.

Cleary bought the ticket for the Nov. 13 drawing at the Petro Mart on U.S. 15-501 North in Chapel Hill.

He claimed his prize Monday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. He had the choice of getting $25,000 a year every year for the rest of his life or a lump sum of $390,000. He chose the lump sum, and after federal and state tax withholdings, he took home $274,954.

The $2 ticket beat odds of one in 1.8 million to win the game’s second prize of $25,000 A Year For Life. So far, two North Carolinians have won the top prize, $1,000 A Day For Life, and 15 tickets have won the second prize. There are 10 ways to win a prize playing Lucky For Life.

Ticket sales from games like Lucky For Life make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $600 million a year for education. For details on how lottery funds have made a difference in all of North Carolina’s 100 counties, click on the “Impact” section of the lottery’s website.