RALEIGH – Michael Scarlett of Lexington plans to use the $377,241 jackpot he won playing Carolina Cash 5 to pay bills and buy his wife a Corvette convertible.

Scarlett, who paints cars for Richard Childress Racing, matched all five numbers in the April 16 drawing on his Quick Pick ticket. He learned of his big win when he checked his numbers on the lottery’s website on Friday morning.

“I still didn’t believe it so I took the ticket back to where I bought it,” Scarlett said. “The clerk scanned it and then started getting excited. She told me I had won big and that I needed to sign the ticket. It still hasn’t hit me, really.”

After state and federal taxes were withheld, Scarlett collected a check for $261,239. He purchased the lucky ticket at the Welcome Exxon 1-Stop on Old U.S. 52 in Welcome. He beat odds of 1 in 575,757 to win the jackpot.

“I’m going to keep working, but this win will help us a lot,” Scarlett said as he collected his winnings. “This feels wonderful.”

The jackpot for the Friday, April 17 Cash 5 drawing is $50,000.

Scarlett had one of two tickets that matched all five numbers in the April 16 drawing to split the $754,482 jackpot. The second $377,241 prize, which has not been claimed, was won on a ticket sold at Kingsway on Chapel Grove School Road in Gastonia.

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 $52 million in lottery funds have made a difference in Davidson County, click on the “Where the Money Goes” tab on the lottery’s website.