RALEIGH – Jose Santiago, a truck driver from Charlotte, plans to help his family with the $145,306 he won playing Carolina Cash 5. Santiago beat odds of 1 in 575,757 when he matched all five numbers in the Jan. 19 drawing and won half of that night’s jackpot.

Santiago was at home when he learned of his big win.

“I was just sitting down relaxing when I checked the numbers on my phone,” Santiago said. “I was just about to throw the ticket away when I saw it. I couldn’t believe it. I’m going to take care of my family and celebrate with my wife. This is really going to help. I’m very happy.”

After taxes were withheld, Santiago received a check for $98,808. He purchased the winning ticket at the Food Lion on York Road in Charlotte.

The second ticket that split the Jan. 19 jackpot was claimed by Dennis Genung of Winston-Salem.

Ticket sales for games such as Carolina Cash 5 have enabled the lottery to raise more than $2.6 billion for education initiatives statewide. Since the lottery began through June 30, 2012, Mecklenburg County education programs received more than $210.9 million in lottery funds. By law, those funds pay for teachers’ salaries in grades K-3, school construction, prekindergarten programs for at-risk four-year-olds, and need-based college scholarships and financial aid.

A Cash 5 promotion that started Sept. 9 offers players five extra chances to win as much as $50,000. In each Cash 5 Bonus Bucks drawings five prizes will be awarded: One $50,000 grand prize, one $5,000 prize, and three $1,000 prizes. The first two Bonus Bucks drawings were held on Nov. 14 and Jan. 16. The third drawing is scheduled for March 20. More details on the promotion are available on the lottery’s official website.