Some lottery players keep their winning tickets in a safe place, but after Cindy McCullom of Morehead City won $100,000 playing 10th Anniversary Millions, she wouldn’t let her scratch-off ticket out of her sight.

“I put it in a little bag and took it with me everywhere I went,” McCullom said.

She bought the $10 scratch-off ticket on Friday while she was getting gas at the Scotchman on N.C. 172 in Hubert.

When she realized she won, she couldn’t believe it.

“I was a nervous wreck,” McCullom said. “I kept worrying that something would happen to the ticket.”

She put the bag with the $100,000 ticket in her coat and for the rest of Friday, all day Saturday, and all day Sunday she kept it with her.

Nervousness turned to excitement when McCullom claimed her prize Monday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required state and federal tax withholdings, she took home $69,253. She plans to use the money to get a white Mustang.

10th Anniversary Millions launched in April with four $1 million prizes and six $100,000 prizes. One $1 million prize and two $100,000 prizes remain.

Ticket sales from games like 10th Anniversary Millions made it possible for the lottery to raise more than $634 million for the state last year. For details on how more than $21.2 million in lottery funds has made a difference in Carteret County, click on the “For Education” section of the lottery’s website.