Ricky Daniels of Rocky Mount said a Cash 5 jackpot of $416,547 will pay for his dream vacation to Australia.
“I don’t know what I want to see yet,” Daniels said. “Just taking a trip is exciting.”
The delivery driver bought his Cash 5 ticket for the April 4th drawing in Fayetteville. He was completing his work route and stopped at the Walmart on Murchison Road.
The following day, Daniels saw a post from the lottery’s Twitter account that the winning Cash 5 ticket was sold at the same Walmart where he bought his ticket.
“I thought, ‘Hey. Maybe it was me,’” Daniels said.
Daniels later checked his ticket and discovered all five of his Quick Pick numbers matched the draw.
“Boom,” he said. “There it was.”
Besides a trip to Australia, Daniels said he will invest the rest of his winnings.
Daniels claimed his prize Friday at the Raleigh office. After required state and federal tax withholdings, he took home $289,504.
The odds of winning a Cash 5 jackpot are 1 in 749,398.
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 North Carolina, click on the “For Education” section of the lottery’s website.