RALEIGH – Gallie and Sarah Calloway from Newland say they can buy their dream house with a $200,000 win from the scratch-off game, “$.”

Gallie said that buying a house is their “first priority.”

“We want something with room for the kids, and a really big kitchen,” Sarah said.

Their stroke of luck came when Sarah convinced Gallie to buy the $5 ticket while stopping at the Three Mile Quick Mart on Linville Falls Highway.

“I was in the store and saw the flames on it and said, ‘I want that one,’” Sarah said. “It’s probably the first time he was happy that I opened my mouth in a store and said I wanted something.”

Outside the store, Gallie got gas while Sarah sat in the car, scratching the instant ticket. She didn’t even finish scratching off the entire ticket when she realized one of the winning numbers matched one of her numbers with the game’s top prize. Sarah couldn’t believe it.

“I was crying,” Sarah said. “He just kept saying, ‘Are you serious? Is this really real?’”

“We were in complete, and utter shock,” said Gallie. “I never expected I’d win. Honestly, I didn’t think it was real. I had to go to two different stores to scan the ticket before I’d believe it.”

Gallie claimed his prize money Wednesday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required state and federal withholdings, he received a check for $139,003.

The game launched in January with four top prizes of $200,000. The Calloways won the last top prize.

Ticket sales from instant games like “$” make it possible for the lottery to raise more than half a billion dollars a year for the state. For details on how lottery funds have made a difference in Avery County, click on the “For Education” section of the lottery’s website.