Angela McClellan of Marion did a double-take after her $5 ticket revealed a $250,000 top prize.

“That ticket caught my eye for some reason,” she recalled.

McClellan purchased her winning $250,000 Gold Rush ticket from Samirs on Sugar Hill Road in Marion. Sitting in her car in the parking lot, she scratched her ticket.

“I couldn’t believe it,” said McClellan of realizing her big win. “I was just amazed. I couldn’t even drive afterwards. I had to get a second look at it because I didn’t have my glasses on!”

McClellan claimed her prize Tuesday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh and took home $176,876 after required federal and state tax withholdings.

“It hasn’t sunk in yet, but it will,” she said. With her prize money, McClellan says she plans to “pay off some bills” and help out her family.

McClellan won the last $250,000 top prize so the lottery will begin steps to end the game.

Ticket sales from scratch-off games like $250,000 Gold Rush make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $725 million a year for education. For details on how $2.1 million raised by the lottery made a difference in McDowell County last year, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.