Cema Robinson of Knightdale said a decision to do something different led her to a $126,670 Cash 5 jackpot win.
“I don’t play Cash 5,” Robinson said. “I always play Pick 3 or Pick 4, but my daughter plays. I was on my way home from dropping her off when I just thought, ‘Why not get a Cash 5 ticket? It only takes $1 to win.’”
Robinson stopped by the Poor Boy Grocery Store & Grill on Poor Boy Farm Road in Knightdale and bought a ticket for Saturday’s drawing.
“I used my own numbers,” Robinson said. “I just picked the ones my hand hit first.”
Robinson found out she won the next morning.
“I was on my way home from church when I had my sister pull up the numbers,” Robinson said. “I couldn’t remember the exact numbers I used so I double checked when I got home. When I realized I hit, I started screaming I was so excited. It feels so surreal.”
Robinson’s ticket beat odds of one in 749,398 to win the jackpot. She claimed the prize Monday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required state and federal tax withholdings, she took home $89,304. She plans to use some of the money to take her two children and seven grandchildren to Disney World.
Cash 5 is a statewide draw game that gives players the chance to win a jackpot every night. Players can buy tickets at most lottery retailers or through Online Play on the lottery’s website, www.nclottery.com.
Ticket sales from draw games make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $650 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 “Impact” section of the lottery’s website.