Shane Hypio of Charlotte couldn’t believe his eyes when his 50X the Cash ticket revealed a $1 million top prize.

“Reality is setting in now,” he said as he claimed his prize Wednesday at lottery headquarters. “I feel so blessed.”

Hypio purchased his winning $10 ticket from the Quick Trip on Monroe Road in Matthews.

Sitting in his car outside the store, he decided to scratch his ticket.

“I got to the third number, 23, and when I saw that ‘1’ I said, ‘No way,’” he recalled. “Then I saw that ‘MIL’ and I had to take like five minutes to myself. I started getting goosebumps! I couldn’t drive for about 15 minutes after that.”

Hypio had the choice of taking the $1 million as an annuity of 20 payments of $50,000 a year or a lump sum of $600,000. He opted for the lump sum and took home $424,503 after required state and federal tax withholdings.

The 50X The Cash game launched in February with six top prizes of $1 million. Two remain to be won.

Ticket sales from scratch-offs like 50X The Cash make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $725 million a year for education. For details on how $60.5 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Mecklenburg County last year, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.