Everette Small of Greensboro had a “good start” to his day Thursday after winning a Cash 5 jackpot worth $196,232.
“It was a very happy moment,” said Small. “We’re tickled to death.”
The moment came the first thing in the morning as Small’s wife checked the numbers from the Wednesday night drawing. She saw the ticket, purchased the day before at the West Friendly BP on West Friendly Road in Greensboro, matched all five numbers in the drawing.
Small and his wife “started shaking” after realizing the ticket won the jackpot. “I hid the ticket,” he said.
Small claimed his prize Friday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required state and federal tax withholdings, he took home $139,345.
The couple plan to buy a car and save the rest for a “rainy day.”
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. Cash 5 tickets are $1 and drawings are held every night. Friday’s jackpot is $110,000.
Ticket sales from draw games such as Cash 5 make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $900 million a year for education. For details on how $32 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Guilford County in 2020, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.