Derrick Davis of Raleigh says he plans to buy his dream home after he won a $622,508 Cash 5 jackpot.
“I’ve been wanting a house for the last 20 years,” Davis said. “I want one with a two-car garage. I’ll park my car on one side, and put my exercise equipment on the other.”
The forklift driver’s good fortune happened Saturday night when he stopped by the Mira Mart on Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh and bought a $1 Quick Pick ticket.
“It was actually the last store I stopped at on my way home,” Davis explained. “I stopped by five different stores and got five different Cash 5 tickets for the drawing.”
He checked the tickets the next morning after a work meeting. When he realized he had a winning ticket, he couldn’t believe it.
“I started shaking,” Davis said. “I kept thinking, ‘Is this for real?’”
Davis beat odds of one in 749,398 to win the jackpot. He claimed the prize Tuesday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required state and federal tax withholdings, he took home $438,874.
Ticket sales from draw games like Cash 5 make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $600 million dollars 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.