Brenda Highsmith of Pitt County won the Carolina Cash 5 jackpot on Monday night, beating odds of 1 in 575,757 to win $209,282.
After state and federal taxes were withheld, Highsmith received a check for $144,825. She purchased her lucky ticket at the Handy Mart on N.C. 11 South in Winterville.
Carolina Cash 5 drawings occur nightly at 11:22 p.m. Tickets cost $1 each and jackpots start at $50,000.
Ticket sales have made it possible for the lottery to raise more than $3.5 billion for the state. North Carolina Education Lottery net proceeds will be used this year to help pay salaries of teachers and teacher assistants, for pre-kindergarten programs for at-risk four-year-olds, school construction and repair, and need-based college scholarships and financial aid.
For details on how more than $48 million in lottery funds have made a difference in Pitt County, click on the “Where the Money Goes” tab on the lottery’s website.