A $200,000 lottery prize will make a Desert Storm veteran’s 45th birthday a bit more thrilling.

“It’s the best birthday gift I could ask for,” said Trevon Logan of Graham, an Army veteran.

Logan’s good fortune came when she stopped by the Smart Buy Exxon on South Main Street in Graham to get a scratch-off ticket.

“I like playing the first or last ticket,” Logan said. “So when he was opening up a new book of tickets I said, ‘Give me that one.’”

The strategy paid off when her “7” scratch-off ticket produced the $200,000 prize.

“I started jumping up and down,” Logan said. “I was so excited I started to feel faint. The clerk had me sit down and gave me a Mountain Dew.”

Logan claimed her prize Wednesday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required state and federal tax withholdings, she took home $139,003. She plans to use the money to pay bills and set up a college fund for her granddaughter.

“I want to make sure her education is taken care of,” Logan said.

The $5 ticket launched in March with five top prizes of $200,000. One top prize remains.

Ticket sales from games like “7” 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 Alamance County, click on the “For Education” section of the lottery’s website.