Julie Joyner of Rocky Mount could hardly believe what she was seeing Saturday night when a $30 scratch-off won her a $100,000 top prize.

“I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me,” she laughed. “I couldn’t sleep that night.”

Joyner bought her lucky $100,000 Cash Payday ticket from the Food Lion on N.C. 97 East in Rocky Mount.

“It was my first time ever buying a $30 ticket,” Joyner said. “Something just told me to do it.”

She arrived at lottery headquarters to claim her prize and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $72,018.

“This is so exciting,” Joyner said. “I’m just happy.”

She plans to use her winnings to remodel her home.

“Now I can really remodel my house the way I want to,” she said.

The $100,000 Cash Payday game debuted this month with 80 $100,000 top prizes. Seventy-five $100,000 prizes remain to be claimed.

Nash County received $50 million in grants with money raised by the lottery to build new schools. For details on other ways money from the lottery made a difference for education programs in Nash County, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.