When Barry Ritter of Charlotte made a quick stop at a convenience store, he never imagined he’d walk away with a Cash 5 ticket worth $121,323.
Ritter, who works part-time at Harris Teeter, stopped by the Circle K on Christenbury Parkway in Concord to pick up some ice, beer, and a Powerball ticket. As he stood in the checkout line, Ritter decided to get a Cash 5 ticket as well.
“I don’t normally play Cash 5,” said Ritter. “I play Powerball when I remember to get a ticket!”
After he left the store, Ritter left the ticket in his car and forgot about it. A few days later, he remembered the ticket.
“I was standing in the kitchen and used the app on my phone to scan the ticket,” Ritter said. “It made a noise, but didn’t tell me how much I won.”
After using the Lottery’s Official Mobile App to check his ticket, he went to the website to check once more. All five numbers matched his ticket. Ritter had just beaten the odds of one in 749,398 to win the jackpot.
“That’s when I knew,” he said. “I was shocked!”
Ritter claimed the prize from the August 25th drawing on Monday. After required state and federal tax withholdings, he took home $85,534.
As for his prize, Ritter said he hasn’t made any plans quite yet.
“I don’t want to do anything impulsive,” he said.
Cash 5 is a statewide draw game that gives players the chance to win a jackpot every night of the week. Tickets cost $1 and 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 like Cash 5 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.