Terrell Bethea of West End told his wife years ago that she deserved to have a house and after he won a $1.1 million jackpot in Monday’s Cash 5 drawing, he now can give her one.

“Now I can get my family the house they deserve,” he said.

Bethea said his wife had an emotional reaction when he shared the news with her.

“She fell to her knees and broke down crying,” he recalled.

Bethea’s big jackpot win came right before his 36th birthday.

“This happened two days before my birthday,” he laughed, “Isn’t that wild?”

He bought his $1 ticket from the Friendly Mart on N.C. 24/27 in Robbins.

“This means more to me than you can possibly imagine,” Bethea said.

He claimed his prize at lottery headquarters Tuesday and, after required federal and state tax withholdings, took home $811,106.

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. Tuesday’s jackpot is $100,000.

For details on how $5.3 million raised by the lottery made a difference for education programs in Moore County last year, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.