One by one, a nurse, a store clerk, and a small businessman took turns Friday spinning the BIG SPIN prize wheel and landed on prizes ranging from $150,000 to $250,000.

The wins came in a game the lottery started in October called The BIG SPIN. The game begins with the chance to win a cash prize instantly on a $5 scratch-off ticket and can end with a turn on the BIG SPIN wheel for a chance at the top prize of half a million dollars.

On Friday, three winners stepped up to the BIG SPIN wheel, grabbed its handles, and gave it a spin. Each was guaranteed to win at least $100,000, but had a chance at $500,000.

The biggest win, $250,000, went to Jon Tefft of Virginia Beach, who owns a business installing underground irrigation systems.

Tefft’s good luck started while he was working on the Virginia border with his brother and they decided to drive into North Carolina for some barbecue at the Southland Trade Corporation on Caratoke Highway in Moyock. Tefft decided to add a few lottery tickets to his lunch tab and won a BIG SPIN.

“Wow, this might make my retirement a little bit easier,” Tefft said beforehand. ”It’ll give me the chance to not worry about things for the rest of my life.”

After federal and state tax withholdings, Tefft head home with $177,067.

The next big win went to Brandi Ford, a nurse from Greensboro. She said she stopped on the way to church one Sunday for a few lottery tickets at the Seth Mart on Lee’s Chapel Road in Greensboro. Before her turn, she said the most she had won before was $10 to $20.

“It’s feels good,” said Ford after landing on $225,000. After federal and state withholdings, she took home $159,260.

Ford described the winnings as a “blessing.” “We have three kids in college, so that’s going to be a big part of it,” she said. “We have two more that are not in college, and one is getting ready to get a car, so it comes at a perfect time.”

The final win went to Catherine Perry of Goldsboro. Her chance came after she played the lottery for only the second time. Perry said while waiting on a friend after work she purchased a few $1 tickets and two $5 BIG SPIN scratch-offs at a Speedway in Goldsboro.

“Really good,” said Perry after she landed on a $150,000 prize. “I’m a little shaky right now.”

After federal and state withholding, she took home $106,198. She said she plans to use her winnings to go back to school.

“I’ve really been trying to go back to college,” Perry said. “I went for a little while and then I had money troubles and had to drop out. I’m just sitting here thinking this is life-changing. It really is.”

The game still has one last BIG SPIN prize to be claimed and one last $100,000 prize to be won instantly.

Previously, BIG SPIN events included a host, an audience, and a live broadcast on the lottery’s Facebook channel. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Friday’s event followed strict safety guidelines to protect the safety of participants.

Ticket sales from games like The BIG SPIN make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $700 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.