Lorie Sykes of Goldsboro said she plans to build her dream house after she won a $250,000 lottery prize.

“This is life-changing,” said Sykes, a special needs care worker. “I want to build a four-bedroom house with room for my family to come visit.”

Her good fortune happened Saturday when she stopped by the Speedway on U.S. 70 in Goldsboro and bought a 20X The Cash scratch-off ticket.

“I was on my way to Virginia,” Sykes explained. “I actually just stopped to get a Coke-flavored slushy, but decided to get some lottery tickets as well.”

Sykes waited until she returned home before she played the $5 ticket.

“After I pulled into the driveway, I popped on the light in my car and started scratching,” Sykes said. “I looked at the ticket and thought, ‘That can’t be right.’ It’s so surprising! I just can’t believe it.”

Sykes claimed her prize Tuesday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required state and federal tax withholdings, she took home $176,254.

20X The Cash launched in February with eight top prizes of $250,000. Four top prizes remain.

Ticket sales from games like 20X The Cash make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $600 million dollars a year for education. For details on how $7.9 million raised by the lottery supported education programs in Wayne County last year, click on the “Impact” section of the lottery’s website, https://www.nclottery.com.