While in North Carolina for work, Sigfrido Portillo of Immokalee, Fla. tried his luck on an Extreme Cashword scratch-off ticket and won himself a $150,000 top prize.
After finishing his work shift, Portillo stopped at Fastrac Food Mart on New Leicester Highway in Leicester and purchased his lucky $5 ticket.
He claimed his prize Tuesday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required federal and state tax withholdings, he took home $106,126.
Portillo plans to “send some money to his brothers because one of them is sick” and put the rest into savings.
Extreme Cashword launched this month with three top prizes of $150,000. One top prize remains to be won.
Ticket sales from scratch-off games make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $725 million a year for education. For details on how lottery funds have helped all of North Carolina’s 100 counties, click on the “Impact” section of the lottery’s website.