RALEIGH – Dorothy Johnson, a homemaker from Fayetteville, plans to use the $279,598 jackpot she won playing Carolina Cash 5 to pay bills, take a vacation and share with her children and grandchildren.

Johnson matched all five numbers, which she chose based on family birthdays, in the Oct. 21 drawing to win the jackpot. She learned of her big win while watching the live drawing on television.

“I was lying in bed while they were pulling the numbers,” Johnson said. “I got so excited, I stood up and started shaking. I was thrilled then and I still am now.”

After state and federal taxes were withheld, Johnson received a check for $193,484. She purchased the lucky ticket, which beat odds of 1 in 575,757, at the Food Lion on Rosehill Road in Fayetteville.

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 $116 million in lottery funds have made a difference in Cumberland County, click on the “Where the Money Goes” tab on the lottery’s website.