Joseph Darmanin of Wake Forest credits good luck and patience for winning a $201,474 Cash 5 jackpot.
Darmanin said he’s been playing the same set of numbers for months with no luck.
“I was thinking of using different numbers,” Darmanin said. “But then thought what if they come out?”
The numbers did come out, and he beat the odds of 1 in 749,398 to win the Cash 5 jackpot in Tuesday’s drawing.
Darmanin claimed his prize Thursday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required state and federal tax withholdings, he took home $139,521. He plans to use some of the money to pay bills.
He bought the $1 ticket at the Lowe’s Foods on Gateway Commons in Wake Forest.
Ticket sales from games like Cash 5 made it possible for the lottery to raise more than $634 million for the state last year. For details on how more than $331 million in lottery funds has made a difference in Wake County, click on the “For Education” section of the lottery’s website.