Phyllis Moss of Greenville said she got the best birthday gift she could ask for when she won a $1 million lottery prize just days before she turned 64.

“A friend of mine told me something wonderful was going to happen on my birthday this year,” Moss said. “I never believed it would be this. It’s an extra reason to celebrate. Wow! Just Wow!”

The substitute teacher’s good luck started when she stopped at the Duck Thru Food Store on Greenville Boulevard in Greenville and bought a $1,000,000 Win It All scratch-off ticket. When Moss saw she had matching numbers, she couldn’t believe it.

“I started crying I was so happy,” Moss said. “I immediately called my fiancé and told him, ‘You need to pick me up. I can’t drive. I can’t drive. I’m shaking so much.’”

Moss claimed her prize Wednesday afternoon at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. She had the choice of taking a $1 million annuity that has 20 payments of $50,000 a year or a lump sum of $600,000. She chose the lump sum. After federal and state tax withholdings she took home $424,503. She plans to use some of the money to pay bills and help her family.

“This has changed my life,” Moss said. “Someone pinch me. This doesn’t feel real.”

Moss is the first player to win a top $1 million prize playing the new game. Three top prizes remain.

Ticket sales from games like $1,000,000 Win It All make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $700 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 “Impact” section of the lottery’s website.