After Cary resident Stephen Latson left a football game last Saturday, he decided to buy some Cash 5 tickets and scored a $394,216 jackpot win on Tuesday.

“Well unfortunately my team didn’t win,” he said, “but I did.”

Latson bought his lucky ticket from the Harris Teeter on Green Level Church Road in Cary. His Quick Pick ticket matched all five numbers to win the jackpot. Two other tickets also matched all five numbers in the $1.18 million drawing so each winner received $394,216.

Latson arrived at lottery headquarters in Raleigh but had no idea how much he actually won.

“I didn’t think I won anywhere near that much,” he said. “It was a pleasant surprise that’s for sure.”

After required federal and state tax withholdings, Latson took home $280,881.

“I was not expecting that,” he said. “It wasn’t even part of my thought process.”

Latson said he will use his winnings to pay bills and do some home repairs.

Cash 5 is one of six lottery games in North Carolina where players have the option of buying their tickets at a retail location or with Online Play through the lottery’s website or with the NC Lottery Official Mobile App. Monday’s Cash 5 jackpot is $100,000.

Ticket sales from draw games make it possible for the lottery to raise $2.8 million a day on average for education. For details on how $64.1 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Wake County in 2022, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.