Cody Plemmons of Arden bought a lottery ticket for only the third time in his life and bagged a $200,000 prize.

“We mainly stopped at the gas station for a drink and a snack,” he said.

Plemmons, an 18-year-old lumber worker at Lowe’s, said he made a last-minute decision to buy a scratch-off at the counter.

“I honestly don’t even know why I got one,” Plemmons said. “I just thought, ‘Why not.’”

He bought his lucky $5 Cash Payout ticket from Stanley's BP on U.S. 25/70 in Marshall during a stop on a day trip to Tennessee.

“I couldn’t believe it when I won,” Plemmons said. “This is only the third lottery ticket I’ve ever bought.”

Plemmons arrived at lottery headquarters Tuesday to collect his prize and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $142,501.

He said he will put his winnings into savings.

Cash Payout debuted in May with five $200,000 prizes. One $200,000 prize remains to be claimed.

Ticket sales from scratch-off games make it possible for the lottery to raise $2.5 million a day on average for education. For details on how $11.7 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Bumcombe County last year, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.