Raleigh – Richard Sutton of Durham, a process technician, is one of two people who beat the odds to split a $261,284 jackpot in Monday’s Carolina Cash 5 drawing.

Sutton said he plays Cash 5 because he likes the odds in the game. The odds of matching all five white balls to win the Cash 5 jackpot are 1 in 575,757. He brought his winning Quick Pick ticket at one of his “lucky stores”, Cruizers on Latta Road in Durham, on Monday because of the size of the jackpot. He won half, $130,642, and took home $88,838 after taxes.

“It was fun winning,” Sutton said Thursday as he claimed his prize at N.C. Education Lottery headquarters in Raleigh. “It was fun to feel like the person on TV when they found out they had won.”

Sutton said he plans to use some of his prize money to help a family member who is ill. He said he might also buy a new “used” car and either fix his bass boat or buy a new one.

So far the second half of the Sept. 5 jackpot has not been claimed. The owner of the winning ticket, sold at the Kangeroo Express on Randleman Road in Greensboro, has 180 days to claim the prize.

The Carolina Cash 5 jackpot was won again on Wednesday night with two players sharing a prize of $65,204. One winning ticket was sold at the Y & J Mart on Old Monroe Road in Stallings in Union County and the other was sold at the Mountain Island BP on Vinnies Way in Charlotte.

From March 30, 2006 through June 30, 2010, Durham County players have won more than $80.9 million in lottery prizes and county retailers have earned more than $10.2 million in commissions on ticket sales.

During the same time period, Durham County education programs have received more than $31.3 million in lottery funds. By law, those funds benefit teacher salaries, school construction, need-based college scholarships and prekindergarten programs.

To date, the N.C. Education Lottery has raised more than $2 billion for the education initiatives it serves statewide.