When Charlene Ratchford of Shelby won $5 on a scratch-off ticket, she decided to try again and ended up winning a $200,000 prize.

“I feel so overjoyed,” she said as she claimed her prize Thursday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. “I’m happy. I can’t believe that I actually won. I’m just so excited.”

Ratchford, who works as an assembler, purchased her winning ticket from the Curve View Quick Shop on Fallston Road in Shelby.

“I scratched it off later on that night and I was just in shock,” she recalled. “I couldn’t believe it.”

After required federal and state tax withholdings, Ratchford took home $141,501.

“I’m going to take care of my family and take care of my bills,” she said. “And also, my mama. Anything she needs or wants, she got it!”

CA$H PLU$ launched this month with six top prizes of $200,000. Four remain to be won.

Ticket sales from scratch-offs like CA$H PLU$ make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $725 million a year for education. For details on how $6.2 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Cleveland County last year, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.