RALEIGH – Wilmington residents Joseph Cobbs III, a furniture deliveryman, and his fiancé Kendra Batts, a certified nursing assistant, are still in a state of disbelief after matching all five numbers in the Nov. 9 Carolina Cash 5 drawing to win the $640,913 jackpot.

The couple nearly missed out on claiming their prize after the ticket was thrown away by accident.

“I called Kendra as soon as I found out someone had won at the store where I usually buy tickets,” Cobbs said. “When she said she didn’t have the ticket, I went home to find it. I searched for it everywhere and do you know where it was?”

“In the garbage can,” Batts said. “I had cleaned and swept the house earlier and it had gotten mixed in. It was right there at the top of everything I’d thrown away.”

The couple matched all five numbers in the drawing, which they chose based on the birthdays of their friends and family. They decided to split the prize and each received a check for $221,756 after state and federal taxes were withheld. The couple said they have big plans for their winnings.

“We are going to buy our first home,” Batts said. “We hope find one in the next month so we can spend Christmas there with our kids.”

“It’s a great feeling to know that we can do that,” Cobbs said. “I never in a million years thought I’d win a prize this big. This money will really help us relax and be happier.”

The couple purchased the lucky ticket, which beat odds of 1 in 575,757, at the New York Mini Mart on Nixon Street in Wilmington.

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 $50 million in lottery funds have made a difference in New Hanover County, click on the “Where the Money Goes” tab on the lottery’s website.