Brenda Martinez of Durham played a crossword scratch-off and saw her letters reveal a $150,000 prize.
She bought her lucky $5 Extra Play Cashword ticket at the Rainbow Tobacco Shop on Avondale Drive in Durham.
Martinez claimed her prize at lottery headquarters in Raleigh on Wednesday. After federal and state taxes, she took home $106,126.
Extra Play Cashword launched in March with three top prizes of $150,000. One top prize remains to be won.
Ticket sales from scratch-offs make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $700 million per year for education. For details on how $13.1 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Durham County last year, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.