A Wilmington couple, Wilbur and Katie Griffin, are sharing a $25,000 a Year for Life prize they won in the Dec. 9 Lucky for Life drawing.

The Griffin’s ticket matched the five white balls to win the prize, beating odds of one in 1.8 million. They bought the lucky ticket using Online Play on the lottery’s website.

“Wow,” said Wilbur of their good luck after they claimed their prize. “It’s a little overwhelming right now,” added Katie, “but we’ve got plans to invest in our home and our children’s education.”

The game’s second prize, $25,000 a Year for Life, pays out every year for the rest of a winner’s life. A winner also can choose to claim the prize as a lump sum of $390,000. The Griffins chose to split the lump sum amount. After federal and state tax withholdings, each received $137,963.

Lucky for Life tickets are $2 and drawings are held on Monday and Thursday nights. To learn how lottery funds made a difference in all of North Carolina’s 100 counties last year, click on the “Impact” section of the lottery’s website.