RALEIGH – Harvelee Mcclough, Jr. of Hickory can get a second car after he said a lucky feeling led him to buy a $200,000 winning scratch-off ticket.

Mcclough’s good fortune came early Tuesday morning when he stopped to get gas at the Speedway on Highway 127 South after working a late shift.

“I don’t know what made me go in there,” Mcclough said. “I had just finished pumping gas when something said to go get a lottery ticket.”

After scratching the Mega Fortune ticket and realizing that one of his numbers matched the winning numbers for the game’s top prize, he almost didn’t believe it.

“I had to sit there for a second,” Mcclough said. “I stood outside the driveway, thinking for a little bit.”

After a moment, Mcclough entered his house. He turned on all the lights, waking up his fiancé, Lindsay, to tell her what happened. At first, she wanted to go back to sleep. Then, Mcclough revealed the good news.

“'Is this for real?'” she said to him. “I didn’t go back to sleep after he told me.”

Mcclough claimed his prize Thursday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required state and federal withholdings, he received a check for $139,003. In addition to buying a car, Mcclough said he will use the money to pay bills.

The $5 scratch-off game launched in December 2016 with five top prizes of $200,000. One top prize remains.

Ticket sales from instant games like Mega Fortune 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 Catawba County, click on the “For Education” section of the lottery’s website.