RALEIGH – Barbara Gabriel, a retired telephone company worker from Charlotte, plans to use the $130,009 jackpot she won playing Carolina Cash 5 to pay bills and help her grandchildren have a special Christmas.

Gabriel beat odds of 1 in 575,757 when her Quick Pick ticket matched all five numbers in the Dec. 20 drawing. She was at home when she learned of her big win.

“My husband was checking the numbers online and thought I’d matched four of the five numbers,” Gabriel said. “Then I moved my thumb from over the last number on my ticket and I was just in a state of shock. It’s a good feeling.”

Gabriel purchased her lucky ticket at the PC Mart at The Plaza in Charlotte. After state and federal taxes were withheld, she received a check for $89,968.

Ticket sales make it possible for the lottery to raise more than half a billion a year to support education programs. 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 $297 million in lottery funds have made a difference in Mecklenburg County, click on the “Where the Money Goes” tab on the lottery’s website.