James Black of Liberty said he’s going to give his home a makeover after he won a $150,000 lottery prize.

“The house has needed some repairs for a long time,” said Black, who grows hay for a cattle farm. “We’re going to get a new roof among other things.”

Black’s good luck started Friday when he stopped at the Liberty Food Mart on Alamance Church Road in Liberty and bought a $5 Spicy Hot Crossword scratch-off ticket. He brought the ticket home and started scratching.

“I couldn’t believe it”, Black said. “I called for my wife and daughter to look. I told them, ‘I just won the big one!’ I took it back to the store so they could scan it. When it says you won that much money, you just have to be sure.”

Black claimed his prize Thursday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required state and federal tax withholdings, he took home $106,126.

Spicy Hot Crossword launched in May with four top prizes of $150,000. One top prize remains.

Ticket sales from games like Spicy Hot Crossword make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $650 million a year for education. For details on how $8.7 million in lottery funds made a difference in Randolph County last year, click on the “Impact” section of the lottery’s website.