Ashlee Balos of Fuquay-Varina is celebrating after she won a $400,000 lottery prize.
Balos bought the winning Pay Me! scratch-off ticket at the Pinebluff Mini Mart on North Walnut Street in Pinebluff.
She claimed her prize Wednesday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required state and federal tax withholdings, she took home $283,001.
Balos is the first player to claim a top prize since the $5 game launched earlier this week. Three $400,000 prizes remain.
Ticket sales from games like Pay Me! make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $700 million a year for education. For details on how lottery funds have make a difference in each of North Carolina’s 100 counties, click on the “Impact” section of the lottery’s website.