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RALEIGH – Kate Link of High Shoals turned a $5 scratch-off ticket into a $200,000 win.

Link purchased her lucky Mega Bucks ticket at Dean’s Superette on South Lincoln Street in Dallas.

She claimed her top prize Thursday at the lottery’s Charlotte regional office. After required federal and state tax withholdings she took home $141,501.

Mega Bucks launched in December 2020 with 10 $200,000 top prizes. Eight remain to be won.

Ticket sales from scratch-offs like Mega Bucks make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $725 million a 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.