When Chad Murr of Belmont scratched his 20X the Cash ticket and saw a $250,000 prize staring back at him, a longtime premonition came true.

“It was unbelievable,” he said.

Murr, who works as an operation manager, purchased his winning $5 ticket Friday from Will’s Food Store #2 on South New Hope Road in Gastonia.

“When I scratched it, I couldn’t believe it,” he recalled. “I jumped up and I told my girlfriend, ‘I hit! I hit!’ And she said, ‘You hit what?’ And my son was in his bedroom and he came out and was like, ‘Daddy, you told me you were gonna hit one day!’”

Murr claimed his prize Thursday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required federal and state tax withholdings, he took home $176,876.

“First thing I want to do is take care of my family,” said Murr. “I’ll put money in my kids’ accounts for them when they get older. The rest I’m gonna put it into savings and probably pay off my vehicle.”

The new 20X the Cash game launched this month with 10 top prizes of $250,000. Eight top prizes remain to be won.

Ticket sales from scratch-offs like 20X the Cash make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $725 million a year for education. For details on how $13.4 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Gaston County last year, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.