Matthew Shipley of Newton loves to go camping with his wife and, after a $2 Lucky for Life ticket won him a $25,000 a year for life prize, he can pay off his camper van.

“We have been camping all over,” Shipley said. “We bought a camper and now we can pay it off.”

Shipley bought his lucky ticket for Thursday’s drawing using Online Play on the NC Lottery Official Mobile App. He won his prize by matching all five white balls in the drawing.

“I just about had a heart attack,” he laughed. “Then I woke my wife up to tell her we won.”

He claimed his prize at lottery headquarters and had the choice of receiving $25,000 a year for the rest of his life or a $390,000 lump sum. He chose the $390,000 lump sum and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $277,896.

Shipley said in addition to paying off his camper, he can pay off his mortgage and save some for retirement.

Lucky for Life is one of six lottery games in North Carolina where players have the option of buying their tickets through a retail location or Online Play. Lucky for Life drawings are held every night. The odds of winning the $25,000 a year for life prize are 1 in 1.8 million.

Ticket sales from draw games make it possible for the lottery to raise $2.8 million a day on average for education. Catawba County received $40 million in state grants, with money raised by the lottery, to help with school construction. For details on other ways Catawba County benefits from lottery funds, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.