RALEIGH – Edward Samperisi of Holly Springs plans to use a portion of his $108,438 Cash 5 prize to take a vacation with his fiance.

Samperisi matched all five numbers in the April 20 drawing. He learned of his big win on Sunday morning when his fiancé checked the numbers on the NCEL website.

“I could hear her yelling for me from down the hall,” Samperisi said. “She showed the ticket to me and asked me to check the numbers. It was just wild. You play, but you never think you’re going to win. But here we are. I still don’t feel it, though.”

Samperisi also plans to use a portion of his winnings, worth $73,738 after taxes, to pay bills and save for the future. He purchased his lucky ticket at the Sheetz on Thornton Road in Raleigh.

“This is unbelievable,” Samperisi said as he held his check for the first time. “This is so cool. Now it’s starting to sink in.”

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, Wake County education programs received more than $189.4 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.