On Thursday, luck struck Lisa Williard of Harmony a second time when she beat the odds to win another Cash 5 jackpot.

Her first win came in 2008, when she won $363,041. Her second one happened last night. She was one of three people to win the $1,065,423 jackpot.

“It’s like being struck by lightning twice,” Williard said. “What are the odds?”
The odds of winning a Cash 5 jackpot are 1 in 749,398. Williard bought several Quick Pick tickets for Thursday’s drawing at Barker’s Log Cabin Grocery Too on Harmony Highway in Harmony.

When she checked her first ticket, she saw that she matched four numbers to win $250.

“I got excited,” Williard said. “And was like, ‘Yes! We’re all going to dinner.’”

When she checked her next ticket and saw she matched all five numbers, she was in shock.

“I started shaking,” Williard said. “All I could say was, ‘Oh my God, Oh my God.’ I didn’t sleep at all last night.”

Willard claimed her prize Friday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh, receiving a third of the jackpot, $355,141. After required state and federal tax withholdings, she took home $246,826. She plans to use the money to pay off her mortgage.

“2017 debt free,” Williard said. “That’s our new motto.”

The other winning tickets were sold at the Kangaroo Express on South Polk Street in Pineville, and Stanleyville Grocery on North Patterson Avenue in Winston-Salem. Winners have 180 days to claim their prize.

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 lottery funds have made a difference in Iredell County, click on the “For Education” section of the lottery’s website.