Linda Vician of Charlotte said a tradition of playing the lottery with her dad led her to a $1 million prize.

“My 90-year-old dad comes to visit me from Ohio every six months,” Vician said. “We always get scratch-off tickets when he comes because he enjoys playing so much.”

In keeping with tradition, they stopped at the Murphy Express on N.C. 73 in Denver and bought a Big Money Playbook.

“I started going through the games and wasn’t winning anything,” Vician said. “When I got to the last game I couldn’t believe it. I just hoped it was real.”

Vician claimed her prize Monday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. She had the choice of taking an annuity that has 20 payments of $50,000 a year or a lump sum of $600,000. She chose the lump sum. After required state and federal tax withholdings, she took home $423,012. She plans to use some of the money to get a new car.

“One of my first thoughts was, ‘Oh my! What am I going to do with all this money?” Vician said. “I’ll give some to my dad, and my grandchildren. I’ll probably get a new car for myself. It’s going to be top of the line if I do. I want seat warmers.”

Vician is the first player to win a top prize since the Big Money Playbook launched in December. Two $1 million prizes remain. The $20 playbook has six pages of unique games. This is the first time the lottery has offered a playbook with multiple games.

Ticket sales from games like Big Money Playbook help the lottery raise more than $650 million a year for education. For details on how lottery funds are making a difference in all of North Carolina’s 100 counties, click on the “Impact” section of the lottery’s website, https://www.nclottery.com.