RALEIGH – Major McLean, a truck driver from Garner, plans to use the $224,632 he won playing Carolina Cash 5 to save for the future. McLean matched all five numbers in the July 1 drawing.

McLean learned of his good luck when he checked his numbers at the Grocery Boy Jr. on West Garner Road, where he made his winning purchase.

“I had to clean my glasses,” McLean said. “Then I had to take them off to make sure I wasn’t seeing things.”

McLean received a check for $152,750 after state and federal taxes were withheld.

“I like to play Cash 5 because I know I have better odds of winning,” McLean added as he collected his winnings. He beat odds of 1 in 575,757 to win the jackpot.

As of June 2013, the lottery has raised 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, college scholarships and financial aid based on need and digital learning initiatives.

To see how more than $189.4 million in lottery dollars have made a difference in Wake County, go to the Where the Money Goes webpage at http://www.nc-educationlottery.org/beneficiary.aspx.