Heather Kiser of Walnut Cove said a $255,555 lottery prize will let her realize her dream of paying off her mortgage.

“It will be great not to have that monthly payment,” said Kiser a hair salon owner in Stokes County. “It’s a relief not to have to worry about it.”

Kiser’s good luck happened when she stopped by the Exprezit on South Main Street in Walnut Cove to get gas. While she was there, she bought a Fantastic 5’s scratch-off ticket.

“I don’t know why I decided to get a ticket,” Kiser said. “I usually only play the lottery around Christmas. It was just one of those random things.”

She took the ticket back to her car and scratched it.

“I wasn’t sure it was real,” Kiser said. “I just kept thinking, ‘Am I looking at this right?’”

She was, and she claimed the prize Monday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required state and federal tax withholdings, she took home $180,170.

The $5 ticket launched in January with four top prizes of $255,555. Two top prizes remain.

Ticket sales from instant games like Fantastic 5’s make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $600 million a year for education. For details on how lottery funds have made a difference in all of North Carolina’s 100 counties, click on the “Impact” section of the lottery’s website.