A Ft. Bragg soldier has won the first substantial prize in the state's new lottery, officials say.

A news conference was being scheduled to award the Cumberland County man a prize of $10,000 before taxes.

Lottery officials also said that sales were brisk on the first day, topping $8 million statewide.

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North Carolinians snapped up scratch-off lottery tickets Thursday and set their thumbnails briskly to work as the state became the East Coast's last to sponsor a lottery.

The games, which began with only minor glitches, arrived at gas stations and convenience stores in all 100 counties after years of debate and discussion in living rooms and church pews, on campaign trails and in the legislature.

With the state surrounded by lotteries, Gov. Mike Easley and other supporters last year narrowly persuaded enough lawmakers to allow the games. Profits will go to education.

Four scratch-off games were available Thursday at 5,000 outlets. More instant-ticket games will be added soon, and on May 30, the state will join Powerball, a national game with huge jackpots.

"We have a winner today, and it's education in North Carolina," said Rep. Bill Owens of Elizabeth City, a Democrat who over the past decade filed 11 lottery bills.

Opponents said North Carolina abased itself. "We're all sort of disappointed the state has reduced itself to this," said John Rustin, a lobbyist for the N.C. Family Policy Council.

Final sales numbers were not yet in, but players bought roughly $6.5 million in tickets and won about $1.3 million in prizes in the lottery's first 10 hours, officials said. The sales were already triple what officials had predicted for the first day, and the numbers did not include the after-work rush.

Most players lost their money Thursday.

Some won small amounts; and the lottery said no one had collected a prize of more than $600 as of 4 p.m.

Many players were taking tickets home to rub off the thin, latex coating to reveal whether they won. The lottery doesn't know where winning tickets are because they are randomly distributed into rolls during printing.

Stores in the Triangle and around the state were busy.

The line at the Family Fare BP gas station on Main Street in Durham snaked to the back of the store. "It's the rush of something new," said manager David Lasater.

At The Grocery Bag in Clayton, owner Tommy Fitzgerald was amazed at the number of winners he paid. "We've been very, very, very, very busy," he said.

Also busy: The state's new gambling help line, whose telephone number is printed on the back of each ticket.

Smith Worth, an addiction specialist for the state, said about 40 people had called by midafternoon seeking gambling addiction help or information.

"It's going to be a long night, believe me," she said.

The lottery got the vast majority of its outlets open on the inaugural day. Only 200 out of 5,000 were not able to sell tickets right away, most because they didn't get tickets in time or had computer troubles. Ronnie Setzer's Exxon store in the mountain town of Franklin was one of them.

When a UPS delivery van made its regular stop at the Macon County store Wednesday afternoon, Setzer expected his lottery tickets to come rolling in. The UPS man combed the truck but couldn't find them, and Setzer soon learned they had been mailed to the wrong ZIP code and were sitting in an office in a neighboring county. It was Thursday afternoon before Setzer got his tickets, a disappointment for hopefuls waiting at 6 a.m.

The state says the games will raise $400 million for education in the first year. In events all day, educators touted the purpose of the lottery: school construction, college scholarships, smaller classes and the state's program for needy 4-year-olds.

Official first tickets

Howard Lee, State Board of Education chairman, went to lottery headquarters in Raleigh at 6 a.m. and used a crisp $5 bill to buy what officials called the first tickets. The state's teacher of the year, Wendy Miller of Craven County, scratched the tickets at a second ceremony. One was worth $10 and will be donated to education.

Big dreams

Some players talked about education, but many were dreaming of wealth.

Shortly after 9 a.m., Raymond Webster, a 50-year-old Raleigh house painter, bought $120 worth of tickets at a New Bern Avenue convenience store. When he paid up, the store clerk handed him a plastic bag to stuff his tickets in for a marathon scratch-off he planned.

"If you're going to play -- play. If you aren't -- don't," Webster said. "I don't spend my grocery money on these things. Some people spend $100 at a club. I spend my money here. I paint houses and buy lottery tickets on the side."

Curtis Sutton, a cab driver, decided to delay buying lottery tickets until after a day shift ferrying passengers in his sky-blue Community Cab Co. rig.

"I think I've got a shot, you know?" said Sutton, 47, who lives in Raleigh. "I know I deserve to win. I don't want to drive a cab all my life. I want to own a cab company because I think I can run it better."

Store owners said that today should be even better for sales.

"Wait until Friday," said Lene Stanley, who manages a Wilco station in Greenville. "That's payday."

(Staff writers Eric Ferreri, Patrick Winn, Jerry Allegood and correspondent Becky Johnson contributed to this report.)