William Kite of Cary said he walked around in a haze for days after winning a $422,918 Cash 5 jackpot.
“I was honestly numb for about two or three days,” he said Wednesday. “It’s all kind of a haze.”
Kite, a 64-year-old IT worker, purchased his lucky Quick Pick ticket using Online Play on the lottery’s website. He said he prefers playing online because of the convenience of it. He matched all five white balls in the Dec. 30 drawing to win the jackpot.
“This really is a dream come true,” he said. “I’ve been given a gift here and I plan to make a difference with it.”
Kite arrived at lottery headquarters Wednesday to collect his prize and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $301,329.
“Now I’m going to be able to look into buying a home,” he said.
Kite said he also plans to give some of his winnings to charity.
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.
The odds of winning a Cash 5 jackpot are 1 in 962,598. Wednesday’s jackpot is $110,000.
Ticket sales from draw games such as Cash 5 make it possible for the lottery to raise $2.5 million a day on average for education. For details on how $64.1 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Wake County last year, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.