Goldsboro resident Thomas Presley did not initially plan on buying a scratch-off Wednesday morning but, after finding $20 in his pocket, he tried his luck and uncovered a $100,000 prize.

“I was just in shock,” he recalled. “I couldn’t believe it.”

Presley, an assistant principal, said he had to double-check to make sure he really won.

“Sometimes I mistakenly look at the numbers wrong,” he laughed.

He bought his lucky $20 100X The Cash ticket from the Walmart Neighborhood Market on Tommys Road in Goldsboro.

“First I called my wife,” he said. “She didn’t believe it so I took a picture of it to show her.”

Presley collected his prize at lottery headquarters Wednesday and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $71,256.

He said he will use the prize winnings to do some home improvements and save for his daughter’s education.

Ticket sales from scratch-off games make it possible for the lottery to raise $2.5 million a day on average for education. Wayne County has received state grants totaling $30 million from monies raised by the lottery to help build a new elementary school. For details on other ways money raised by the lottery made a difference in Wayne County last year, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.