Maggie and Rogerick Bullard of Pembroke said they’ll be able to pay off their dream house before they move into it thanks to a $1 million lottery prize.

“It’s a dream come true,” Maggie said. “It came at the perfect time. We’re in the middle of building a 4-bedroom 2-bath home, and now we’ll be able to have it all paid for. This is just such a relief.”

The couple’s good fortune happened on their way to work Thursday morning when they stopped by the Kia Quick Mart on N.C. 42 West in Clayton.

“We stop there every morning for gas,” said Rogerick, an electrician. “I always get a lottery ticket and the clerk tells me, ‘Good luck! I hope you hit.’ this time I did!”

The win came with a $10 Crown Jewels ticket.

“I was texting on my phone when he scratched the ticket,” Maggie described. “I heard him say, ‘Look at this,’ to one of his buddies. ‘Does this say $1 million?’ I thought they were joking so I didn’t even look up.

“I told her to come see if I was looking at it right.” Rogerick said. “We couldn’t believe it.”

They came straight to lottery headquarters in Raleigh to claim their prize. They had the choice of taking an annuity that has 20 payments of $50,000 a year or a lump sum of $600,000. They chose the lump sum. After required state and federal tax withholdings, they took home $423,009. They plan to move into their new home in September.

Crown Jewels launched in May with six top prizes of $1 million. Four top prizes remain. This big ticket offers four different games and 44 chances to win.

Ticket sales from instant games like Crown Jewels make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $600 million dollars 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.