Bryan Maldonado of Lenoir tried his luck on a $5 scratch-off ticket and won a $200,000 prize.
Maldonado bought his lucky Sapphire 7s ticket from the Speedway on U.S. 70 in Hickory. He arrived at lottery headquarters on Monday to collect his prize and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $142,021.
The Sapphire 7s game launched in December with six top prizes of $200,000. Three top prizes remain to be claimed.
Ticket sales from scratch-off games make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $900 million per year for education. For details on how $3.8 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Caldwell County in 2020, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.