For most people their hair stands on end when they’re frightened, but for Patrick Davenport of Leland, when the hair on his arm stands on end, it’s a sign of good luck.

That’s exactly what happened Wednesday before he won a $110,000 Cash 5 jackpot.
Davenport, who owns his own painting business, said he knew he would win that afternoon.

“I told my employees, ‘I’m going to win,’” Davenport said. “Then the hair stood up on my arms.”

And sure enough, he beat the odds of 1 in 749,398 to win the jackpot.

When he told his employees they were in shock.

“I told them with a straight face and they didn’t believe me at first,”

Davenport said. “Then I started smiling and jumping up and down.”

He claimed his prize Monday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required state and federal tax withholdings he took home $76,178. He plans to give some of the money to his church then put the rest in savings.

He bought the $1 Quick Pick ticket at the Waccamaw Speedy Mart on Top Tobacco Road in Lake Waccamaw.

This isn’t Davenport’s first win. He’s won smaller prizes and said he bought the winning tickets after the hair on his arm stood up.

“You’ve just got to have that feeling,” he said.

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 $33.1 million in lottery funds has made a difference in Brunswick County, click on the “For Education” section of the lottery’s website.