When John Ross of Leland plays Lucky for Life, he picks up his phone and chooses numbers by random chance, a strategy that paid off with a $25,000 a year for life prize.

“I just close my eyes and point at random numbers,” Ross laughed.

He bought his lucky $2 ticket using Online Play. He won his prize by matching all five white balls in the July 14 drawing.

“The day of the drawing was actually my wife’s birthday,” Ross said. “It’s hard to believe.”

Ross, 56, said he likes to play Lucky for Life the same way each time.

“I always just play one ticket because that’s all it takes to win right?” Ross said.

He claimed his prize at lottery headquarters Friday and had the choice of receiving $25,000 a year for the rest of his life or a $390,000 lump sum. He chose the $390,000 lump sum and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $278,851.

“This will help get me to where I need to be for retirement,” he said.

Ross said he also plans to use his winnings to pay bills and donate to charity.

Lucky for Life is one of six lottery games in North Carolina where players have the option of buying their tickets through a retail location or Online Play. Lucky for Life drawings are held every night.

For details on how $6.1 million raised by the lottery made a difference for education programs in Brunswick County last year, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.