Phillip Williams of Southern Pines said he can buy a house now after his $1 Cash 5 ticket won a $757,128 jackpot in Wednesday’s drawing.

“This is going to help me get my feet back on the ground,” Williams said.

Williams, 43, bought his lucky ticket from the Speedway on U.S. 15-501 in Carthage. He said he has been playing the same lucky numbers on all his Cash 5 tickets.

“I’ve been replaying my family’s birthdates for my numbers,” Williams said. “And the final number is my age.”

Williams stopped at the store to scan his ticket and realized he won a prize.

“I thought I won a dollar,” Williams laughed. “I didn’t realize I won the jackpot until I saw the numbers online.”

Williams arrived at lottery headquarters Thursday to collect his prize and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $537,638.

“I couldn’t believe it when I saw how much I won,” Williams said.

Cash 5 is one of four lottery games in North Carolina where players have the option of buying their tickets through a retail location or 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.

Monday’s jackpot is $206,000. The odds of winning a Cash 5 jackpot are 1 in 962,598.

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 $4.8 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Moore County in 2021, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.