Randel Holland, a Raleigh businessman, woke up at 3 a.m. Friday, checked his Cash 5 tickets and had a hard time getting back to sleep after seeing he was one of three winners of Thursday’s Carolina Cash 5 jackpot of $474,405.
Holland, who said he enjoys the Cash 5 game, said he had won $8 earlier and decided to use the money for eight Quick Pick tickets. One of the eight, purchased at Kangaroo Express #3098 on Wake Forest Road, matched all five numbers.
Each of the three tickets that matched all five Cash 5 winning numbers is worth $158,135, a third of the jackpot. The odds of winning the Cash 5 jackpot are 1 in 575,757.
“I was a little surprised and had to take a second look,” said Holland of his 3 a.m. check. “I didn’t win a million, but $150,000 isn’t bad at all. It was a chill. I had a hard time getting back to sleep.”
After federal and state taxes were withheld, Holland received $109,429. He said he planned to donate part of his winnings to his church and use part for his wife to visit her family in the Philippines.
As of Friday afternoon, Holland was the only one to claim his part of the jackpot. One of the other tickets was sold at the AAA Mart on N.C. 66 South in Kernersville and the other at Woodies on Tryon on North Tryon Street in Charlotte. Winners have 180 days from the date of the drawing to claim their prize.
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 $233 million in lottery funds have made a difference in Wake County, click on the “Where the Money Goes” tab on the lottery’s website.