Needing a pick-me-up before work, Acxel Quiterio of Winston-Salem said he stopped to get an energy drink, but got his boost instead with a $1 million lottery win.

The highway construction worker’s good luck started Tuesday morning when he stopped by the Mebane Food Mart on South 5th Street in Mebane and bought a LUCKY NO. 7 scratch-off ticket.

“It’s part of my routine,” Quiterio said. “I always stop to get a Red Bull and a snack and then head to work.”

He scratched the ticket later that morning.

“When I saw the numbers, I could feel the tears coming on,” Quiterio said.

Quiterio claimed his prize later that afternoon at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. He had the choice of taking an annuity that has 20 payments of $50,000 a year or a lump sum of $600,000. He chose the lump sum. After required state and federal tax withholdings, he took home $424,503. The father of five said he plans to use the money to get a new house for his family. He also plans to pay off his mom’s house.

“I just want to make sure everyone is taken care of,” Quiterio said. “This is such a blessing for me and my family.”

The $10 ticket launched in April with six top prizes of $1 million. Two top prizes remain.

Ticket sales from games like LUCKY NO. 7 help the lottery raise more than $650 million a year for education. For details on how $21.9 million in lottery funds made a difference in Forsyth County last year, click on the “Impact” section of the lottery’s website, https://www.nclottery.com.