David Hosmer of Durham kept telling his wife he was going to win the lottery, and his prediction came true when a $20 scratch-off ticket turned into $100,000.

“I told her I was going to win one day and my day finally came,” Hosmer said.

The 68-year-old retired ceiling installer said he was already feeling lucky after winning $30 the day before, so he stopped by a local grocery store, the Food Lion on Sherron Road in Durham, to try his luck again.

Hosmer, sitting in his car, scratched his Ultimate 7’s ticket. When he realized he was a big winner, he said he sat in disbelief. He couldn’t believe his luck.

“My hands were shaking,” Hosmer said. “Then a smile came across my face and I started grinning ear to ear. I called my wife and she started screaming.”

Hosmer arrived at lottery headquarters on Wednesday to collect his prize. After required federal and state tax withholdings, he took home $70,756.

When asked what he was planning to do with his winnings, Hosmer said he wants to help pay off his wife’s new Ford EcoSport and then take a trip to Hawaii.

The Ultimate 7’s game launched in May with four top prizes of $2 million and eight $100,000 prizes. One $2 million prize and two $100,000 prizes remain to be claimed.

Ticket sales from scratch-off games like Ultimate 7’s make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $900 million per year for education. For details on how $12.8 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Durham County in 2020, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.