RALEIGH – Shelby resident Chris Ensley plans to use the $356,638 he won playing Carolina Cash 5 to purchase a home for his family.

Ensley, who works in construction, stopped for gas at the Curveview 18 Express on Fallston Road in Shelby on Monday and decided to purchase five Quick Pick tickets for the Feb. 27 drawing. He learned of his win Tuesday morning when he asked a local lottery retailer to scan his tickets.

“It said I had to claim my prize at the lottery,” Ensley said. “The clerk said I had all five numbers, but she didn’t know how much I had won. I found out when I called the hotline to verify. I started shaking. It still hasn’t sunk in.”

Ensley received a check for $242,514 after state and federal taxes were withheld. Odds of winning a Cash 5 jackpot are one in 575,757.

“You never expect it to happen to you,” Ensley added. “This is life-changing, that’s for sure.”

Through June 30 of last year, Cleveland County has received $24.3 million in education funds from the lottery. To date, the N.C. Education Lottery has raised more than $2.2 billion for education initiatives statewide.