onald Bauer of Rocky Mount played his crossword-themed lottery ticket over dinner and found 10 words that spelled out a $150,000 prize.

“I was at McDonalds, eating a burger before I went to work,” he said. “I almost choked on it. I couldn’t believe it. It was cool.”

Bauer purchased his winning $5 Extreme Cashword ticket from Jeffries Road Food Mart on Jeffries Road in Rocky Mount.

“I love the crosswords,” he said. “I’ve been playing them for a long time.”

Bauer claimed his prize Monday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After federal and state tax withholdings, he took home $106,126.

“I was thinking about getting a new truck — a Chevrolet,” said Bauer. “And I’m going to try to invest.”

Bauer won the last $150,000 top prize so the lottery will begin steps to end the game.

Ticket sales from scratch-offs like Extreme Cashword make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $725 million a year for education. For details on how $4.8 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Nash County last year, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.