Bobby Conklin from Gibsonville will start the New Year off right after a $5 Pay Me! scratch-off ticket paid him a $400,000 prize.

Conklin bought his lucky ticket at the Food Lion on Alamance Church Road in Greensboro. He claimed his prize Friday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $283,001.

The Pay Me! game started in August with four top prizes of $400,000. One top prize remains to be won.

Ticket sales from scratch-off games make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $700 million a year for education. For details on how lottery funds have helped all of North Carolina’s 100 counties, click on the “Impact” section of the lottery’s website. https://www.nclottery.com.