Timothy Chandler of Lexington tried his luck on a Cash 5 ticket and found himself one of two winners to hit the $362,242 jackpot.
“I’m always hopeful, so I was just hoping, but it’s always a surprise,” he said of realizing his win. “I was very happy, very glad.”
Chandler purchased his winning Quick Pick ticket for Tuesday’s drawing through Online Play on the lottery’s website.
His ticket was one of two that matched all five numbers in the drawing. Maria Moreno of Newton Grove won the other half of the jackpot and purchased her winning ticket at the Best Bet on Harnett Dunn Highway in Newton Grove.
“I was really glad to hear that someone else won besides me,” said Chandler. “I was always hoping that if I win, somebody else wins, too.”
He claimed his half of the jackpot, $181,121, at lottery headquarters in Raleigh on Friday. After required federal and state tax withholdings, Chandler took home $128,144.
As for his winnings, he plans to “share some and spend some and save some.”
Carolina Cash 5 tickets are $1 and drawings are held every night. Saturday’s jackpot is $237,000.
The odds of winning a Cash 5 jackpot are 1 in 962,598.
Cash 5 is one of four lottery games in North Carolina where players have the option of buying their tickets through Online Play either through the lottery’s website or with the NC Lottery Official Mobile App.
Ticket sales from draw games like Cash 5 make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $725 million a year for education. For details on how lottery funds have helped all of North Carolina’s 100 counties, click on the “Impact” section of the lottery’s website.