James Joyce of Greensboro normally delivers medicine to hospitals and clinics, but on April 21, Carolina Cash 5 delivered a $149,814 jackpot win to him.
Joyce, a healthcare driver, stops at the Crossroads Exxon on West Market Street in Greensboro every day after work. “It’s routine,” he said.
On April 21, that routine led Joyce to buy a Cash 5 ticket with EZ Match, using his own set of lucky numbers, for that night’s drawing.
The next morning, he was at home and checked the numbers when he got up. “I almost fainted,” Joyce recalled.
While the state’s Stay At Home order remains in effect, the lottery lifted the requirement that winners of prizes of $100,000 or more claim their prize in person. After federal and state tax withholdings, Joyce took home $105,994 and received his prize on Wednesday.
As for what he plans to do with his winnings, Joyce said, “I got a few small bills I can knock out but other than that, no big purchases. I’m just a happy-go-lucky guy.” He does, however, plan to use a bit of his lottery prize for one special purchase: “I’m going to buy myself a brand-new set of golf clubs,” he said.
Cash 5 is a statewide draw game that gives players the chance to win a jackpot every single night. Tickets cost $1 and players can buy tickets at most lottery retailers or through Online Play on the lottery’s website. Friday’s Cash 5 jackpot is $110,000.
Ticket sales from draw games like Carolina Cash 5 make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $700 million per year for education. For details on how $31.9 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Guilford County last year, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.