RALEIGH – A group of five friends has been awarded its share of a $543,837 Carolina Cash 5 jackpot. Their ticket was one of three to match all five numbers in the Dec. 23 drawing, making it worth $181,279.

The five winners are Christopher Alexander of Conover, Marqua Backus of Durham, Jerry Ramseur of Hickory, Paul Robinson of Hickory, and Diana Wood of Granite Falls. Each claimant won $36,255 for after-tax winnings of $24,654 each. The winners did not share any immediate plans for their prize money.

Five months ago, Wood began buying tickets on behalf of the group. She purchased 12 $1 Quick Pick tickets for the Dec. 23 drawing from the Wilco on Hickory Boulevard in Granite Falls.

“We won Friday the 23rd, but didn’t realize we'd won until Christmas morning,” she said. “I was in the middle of baking biscuits on Christmas morning. It was a real excitement.”

As of Thursday afternoon, one of the other two tickets to match all five numbers in the drawing has been claimed. Curtis G. Allred of Randleman bought his winning ticket at the Ready Mart on North Main Street in Randleman. The third ticket, sold at MS Food Mart on West Friendly Avenue in Greensboro, is still unclaimed.

To date, the N.C. Education Lottery has raised more than $2.1 billion for education initiatives statewide. By law, these funds benefit specific programs, including teacher salaries in grades K-3, school construction and repair, prekindergarten programs and college scholarships and financial aid based on need.