RALEIGH – Jeanette Tyler, a debt collector from Durham, said she’s going to live a little more comfortably after winning $313,045 playing Carolina Cash 5.

Tyler matched all five numbers, which she chose in honor of her grandparent’s birthdays, in the Sept. 18 drawing to win the jackpot. Tyler learned of her big win after checking her numbers on her smartphone.

“This is truly a blessing for me,” Tyler said. “I’m going to fix up my house, buy new furniture, buy some presents for the kids and save a bit.”

After state and federal taxes were withheld, Tyler received a check for $216,627. She purchased the lucky ticket, which beat odds of 1 in 575,757, at the University Market on West Chapel Hill Street in Durham.

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 $3.4 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 $61 million in lottery funds have made a difference in Durham County, click on the “Where the Money Goes” tab on the lottery’s website.