He scratched off the lucky ticket at the store he purchased it from, the New Dixie Mart on Highway 903 in Halifax.

“Of all the stores in North Carolina, I was in the right place at the right time,” the North Carolina native said. “I’m still just shocked.”

Peterson’s good luck means he will receive the $1 million prize in annuity payments of $50,000 a year for 20 years. He has already received his first check for $34,006 after taxes and said he’d use his winnings to pay off his car, travel and save for the future.

Peterson is the sixth player to win $1 million since the $4,000,000 Cash Blowout game started on Jan. 10, 2012. One $1 million prize, one $4 million prize and many other prizes remain to be claimed.

Since the lottery began through June 30, 2012, Halifax County education programs received more than $14.7 million in lottery funds. By law, those funds pay for teachers’ salaries in grades K-3, school construction, prekindergarten programs for at-risk four-year-olds, and need-based college scholarships and financial aid.

To date, the N.C. Education Lottery has raised more than $2.9 billion for these initiatives statewide.