When James King of Apex got home from vacation, he found a letter in his mailbox letting him know he won $100,000 in a second-chance drawing.

“I was on vacation for two weeks,” said King. “So, we just came home a couple days ago and got our mail out of the mailbox and there was a letter there certified from the lottery. I was like, ‘What the heck is this?’”

He showed the letter to his wife, who “looked at it and got off the phone in a hurry.” The couple opened the envelope and read the letter together.

“She reads ahead of me and saw how much it was and said, ‘No way!’” he recalled. “She started jumping around going, ‘Is this real?’”

King’s entry was chosen from over 20,757,000 entries in the fourth and final 2020 Multiply the Cash second-chance drawing on Feb.3.

“We’re still smiling about this, let me tell you,” said King as he claimed his prize Friday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required federal and state tax withholdings, he took home $70,750.

“I have kids that have student loans and we’re gonna pay off their loans and buy my son a car when he graduates in April,” said King, a retired postal worker.

Winners of second-chance drawings receive a phone call and email notifying them that they won, along with a certified letter.

“I think it’s wonderful you get a second chance to win,” said King. “It’s great because it really gives people hope that it might make their life a little bit easier.”

Ticket sales from scratch-offs make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $725 million per year for education. For details on how $62.8 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Wake County last year, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.