A celebration between Mooresville resident Francis Garcia Arita and his wife broke out Sunday after he became the first player to win a $100,000 prize playing a digital instant game.

“It was wild,” he recalled. “I still don’t believe it. Just unreal.”

Arita won his big prize playing The Lamp. He played $20 to win $100,000 and the odds of that win are 1 in 1,000,000. He said he immediately told his wife the big news.

“We were jumping around,” Arita laughed. “She was so happy.”

He said he started playing digital instant games after seeing a commercial for them on TV.

“I already had the app so I thought I would try it,” Arita said. “I started winning some so I kept playing.”

He claimed his prize at lottery headquarters Friday in Raleigh. After required federal and state tax withholdings, he took home $71,256.

Arita plans to pay some bills with his winnings and save the rest.

The big win came less than a month after the launch of new digital instant games. The games offer a new way to play the lottery and win prizes.

In The Lamp game, a player can play from 50 cents to $30. The top prize that can be won is $150,000.

Digital instant games are played exclusively online on the lottery’s website or on the NC Lottery Official Mobile App. Eleven different games are available to play online now.

During the holiday season, Play Smart, Gift Smart raises awareness that lottery tickets are not appropriate gifts for kids as part of a national gift responsibly campaign. Research shows that the earlier someone participates in or is exposed to gambling, the more likely they are to develop a gambling problem later in life. Check out our blog to learn more.