Richard Sutton of Durham beat the odds not once, but twice, after he won a Cash 5 jackpot for the second time.

“I feel lucky,” Sutton said. “I’ve been blessed twice over.”

Sutton’s latest win came Wednesday when he beat odds of one in 749,398 to win the $504,446 Cash 5 jackpot.

The process technician at Cree said he used his own numbers when he bought his Cash 5 ticket at the Eno Family Fare on Roxboro Road in Durham.

“I’ve been using these numbers for years,” Sutton said. “They’re a combination of my wife’s birthday, my birthday, and my children’s birthdays.”

That same night, Sutton watched the drawing live. When he heard the numbers come up, he couldn’t believe it.

“I put my head down and closed my eyes and just listened,” Sutton said. “I heard my oldest son’s birthday and then realized I got all five numbers.”

He immediately ran to the bedroom to tell his wife.

“She couldn’t believe it,” Sutton said “She didn’t believe that I’d hit the jackpot twice.”

Sutton claimed his prize Friday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required state and federal tax withholdings, he took home $350,596. He plans to save the money.

Sutton won the Cash 5 jackpot for the first time six years ago. He split a $261,284 jackpot in the Sept. 5, 2011 Cash 5 drawing.

Ticket sales from draw games like Cash 5 make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $600 million a year for education. For details on how lottery funds have made a difference in all of North Carolina’s 100 counties click on the “For Education” section of the lottery’s website.