Wayne Lingford of Chocowinity took a chance on a $5 scratch-off and won a $250,000 prize.

Lingford bought his lucky 20X The Cash ticket from Choco Mart on U.S. 17 South in Chocowinity.

Lingford arrived at lottery headquarters Friday to collect his prize and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $177,526.

Ticket sales from scratch-off games make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $2.5 million a day on average for education. For details on how $2.7 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Beaufort County in 2021, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.