RALEIGH – Baxter Durham Jr. of Person County matched all five numbers in the July 23 Carolina Cash 5 drawing, winning the $126,871 jackpot. He purchased the lucky Quick Pick ticket at the Berea Mini Mart on U.S. 158 West in Oxford.

Durham, a textile engineer, learned of his win while at work early Wednesday morning. He called the lottery’s player hotline and compared the winning numbers drawn to those on his ticket.

“It was like the ticket was glowing when I looked at it,” Durham said. “I had five lines of numbers and the last line just seemed to be lit up. It didn’t seem real at all.”

Durham plans to use his winnings, worth $86,273 after taxes were withheld, to share with his church and save for the future.

“I already have everything I need,” Durham said. “This won’t change much for us, but I’m happy to win.”

Since the lottery began, North Carolina has received more than $2.9 billion to support education programs. The lottery completed its seventh straight year of record sales and record earnings for the state on June 30, 2013, recording a 5.8 percent increase in sales and an estimated 4 percent increase in earnings. Lottery dollars support teachers’ salaries in grades K-3, school construction and repair projects, prekindergarten programs for at-risk four-year-olds, and college scholarships and financial aid based on need.

To see how more than $9.1 million in lottery dollars have made a difference in Person County, go to the Where the Money Goes webpage at http://www.nc-educationlottery.org/beneficiary.aspx.