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RALEIGH – The day before Thanksgiving, Willie Brooks of Dallas stopped for gas and a Gatorade and drove away with a $200,000 lottery prize.

Brooks, a recently retired truck driver, purchased his winning $5 ticket from the Kingsway on Union Road in Gastonia and scratched his tickets while pumping gas.

“I found out that I won and I just went ahead and confirmed it with the clerk,” recalled Brooks. He then called his daughter to share the good news.

Brooks claimed his prize Monday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required federal and state tax withholdings, he took home $141,501.

“I’m just going to use it to enjoy my retirement,” said Brooks.

Power Shot launched in October with four top prizes of $200,000. One top prize remains to be won.

Ticket sales from scratch-offs make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $725 million per year for education. For details on how lottery funds have helped all of North Carolina’s 100 counties, click on the “Impact” section of the lottery’s website.