William and Pat Shouse of Raeford are going to vacation in the Caribbean after they won a $209,623 Cash 5 jackpot.

“We’re going on a cruise to Aruba and the Dominican Republic,” William said. “This will help pay for that.”

The couple beat odds of 1 in 749,398 to match all 5 numbers in Wednesday’s drawing.

“I found out we won when my wife called me at work this morning,” William said. “She thought we had won $50,000.”

When William got home and checked the ticket, he realized they had actually won the jackpot.

“I started screaming,” William said. “I looked at the ticket again and again.”

“We always said that one day we were going to win,” Pat said. “And this time we did. I just kept yelling, ‘We won! We won! We won!’”

The couple claimed the jackpot Thursday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required state and federal tax withholdings, they took home $145,690.

William bought the $1 Quick Pick ticket at the Rite Aid on Raeford Road in Fayetteville.

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 Hoke County, click on the “For Education” section of the lottery’s website.