Blaine Jones of Maxton took a chance on a $5 scratch-off ticket and won the first $150,000 prize in the Holiday $500’s game.
Jones bought his lucky ticket from Community Mart on Andrew Jackson Highway in Laurinburg. He arrived at lottery headquarters Tuesday to collect his prize and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $106,876.
The Holiday $500’s game launched in November with two top prizes of $150,000. One $150,000 prize remains to be claimed.
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. The state provided $50 million in grants, using money raised by the lottery, to help Robeson County build a new career and technology high school. For details on other ways Robeson County benefits from lottery funds, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.