North Carolina Man 'In Disbelief' After Scoring Long-Awaited Lottery Win

A man in North Carolina is in "disbelief" after finally achieving his dream of winning a big lottery prize thanks to a recently-debuted scratch-off game.

William Shivers , of Ayden, knew he would call himself a lottery winner at some point, it was only a matter of time until he could claim his long-awaited prize, according to a release from the NC Education Lottery .

"I always told my family I was going to win one day," he said.

That day finally came last week when he stopped by the Circle K on South Memorial Drive in Winterville and picked up a $30 200X The Cash scratch-off ticket, a move that landed him the game's first $100,000 prize. After years of waiting for his big moment, he couldn't believe it happened at last.

"I was in disbelief," he said. "I think that game is my new favorite now."

Right after learning of his win, he of course had to share the exciting news with his loved ones, though it wasn't easy convincing them it really happened.

"The first text I sent in my family group chat just said, 'I finally did it,'" he recalled. And with his repeated insistence that he was going to win big someday, his family had a hard time at first believing it was true. "I called my wife and she thought I was joking."

Shivers claimed his prize at lottery headquarters on Monday (March 11), taking home a total of $71,509 after all required state and federal tax withholdings. Lottery officials said he plans to use his prize to pay bills and build a metal shop in his backyard.

According the lottery website, the 200X The Cash game launched last week with five top prizes of $5 million and 10 $100,000 prizes. After Shivers' win, nine of the $100,000 remain to be claimed in addition to all of the $5 million prizes.