Nicholas Stainback of Elizabeth City is looking forward to no more mortgage payments, after he became the first player to win $200,000 playing the Mega Fortune scratch-off game.

“It feels freeing,” Stainback said. “It will be nice not to worry about it. It’s awesome.”

Stainback, who paints airplanes for the U.S. Coast Guard, got the $5 ticket at the Han-Dee Hugo on Halstead Boulevard in Elizabeth City. When he scratched the ticket, he couldn’t believe what he saw.

“I didn’t think it was real,” Stainback said. “I had to check the ticket four or five times.”

Stainback claimed his prize Monday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required state and federal tax withholdings, he took home $139,003.

Mega Fortune launched in December with five top prizes of $200,000. Four top prizes remain.

Ticket sales from games like Mega Fortune made it possible for the lottery to raise more than $634 million for the state last year. For details on how lottery funds have made a difference in Pasquotank County, click on the “For Education” section of the lottery’s website.