Timothy Kniess of Iron Station said he won a $100,000 lottery prize thanks to his wife’s good luck.

“I’m married to Lady Luck,” said Kniess, a maintenance man. “When my wife scratches a ticket, she always wins something. I just buy them for her.”

That turned out to be the case when Kniess and his wife stopped by the SM Mart Springs on Springs Road North East in Hickory and bought a 10th Anniversary Millions scratch-off ticket.

“She was so calm when she scratched the ticket and showed me,” Kniess said. “I think she was worried about giving me a heart attack.”

Kniess claimed his prize Monday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required state and federal tax withholdings, he took home $69,504. He plans to use the money to build a workshop.

The $10 game launched in April 2016 with four $1 million prizes and six $100,000 prizes. Kniess won the last of the $100,000 prizes. The last $1 million top prize was claimed Friday so the lottery will end the game.

Ticket sales from instant games like 10th Anniversary Millions make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $600 million a year for education. For details on how lottery funds have made a difference in all of North Carolina’s 100 counties, click on the “For Education” section of the lottery’s website.