RALEIGH – Carolina Cash 5 players in North Carolina, especially those in the Asheboro area, should check any tickets they have to see if they are the winner of an unclaimed $173,578 prize.

The winning ticket was purchased for the Aug. 8, 2014 drawing and will expire on Wednesday, Feb. 4. The ticket, sold at the Quik Chek on Sunset Avenue in Asheboro, matched all five balls in the drawing, beating odds of 1 in 575,757. The winning numbers for the drawing were: 5 - 13 - 21 - 24 - 33

“We’re letting our customers know that they need to make sure they check their tickets,” said Michelle Stanback, the store’s manager. “We hope someone claims the money before it’s too late.”

The missing ticket was one of three that matched all five numbers in the drawing to split a $520,734 jackpot. The other two shares were claimed by a player in Greenville and another in Fayetteville.

Draw game tickets expire when they go unclaimed for 180 days after a drawing. By law, when that happens, half of the money goes to benefit education and the other half goes toward prizes awarded to future winners.

Ticket sales made it possible for the lottery to raise more than half a billion for the state last year. 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 $45.4 million in lottery funds have made a difference for specific education programs in Randolph County, click on the “Where the Money Goes” tab on the lottery’s website.