Elijah Farley of Hickory tried his luck on a luck on a $5 scratch-off and won $200,000.
Farley purchased the lucky Gold Standard ticket at Mountain View Market on N.C. 127 in Hickory and became the first person to win the game’s top prize.
He collected his prize Friday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required federal and state withholdings, he took home $142,021.
The Gold Standard game launched this month with six $200,000 top prizes. Five $200,000 top prizes remain to be won.
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 $17.6 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Catawba County in 2021, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.