Raleigh – Hickory resident Dennis Young said he feels excited after claiming a $230,992 Carolina Cash 5 prize. He purchased one of two tickets that matched all five numbers in the July 24 drawing, splitting the $461,844 jackpot.

Young purchased his lucky Cash 5 ticket from Energy Fuels on Springs Road Northeast.

“I’m just feeling good,” said Young. “When I first saw it, I checked it three or four times. Then I asked my wife to check it. I was stunned, to say the least.”

After state and federal taxes were withheld, Young received a check for $159,913.

The other share of the jackpot was claimed on Tuesday by Michael Gyurko, a retiree from Raleigh. Tonight’s Cash 5 jackpot is $296,000.

Ticket sales made it possible for the lottery to raise more than half a billion dollars for the state last year. North Carolina Education Lottery net proceeds were used 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 $50 million in lottery funds have made a difference in Catawba County, click on the “Where the Money Goes” tab on the lottery’s website.