Sarah Craft of Durham said it was the lucky numbers in her horoscope that won her a $149,744 Cash 5 jackpot.
Craft, a stocker at Kroger, decided to use the numbers Sunday night.
“Something just told me to play them,” Craft said. “You’ve got to listen to your gut.”
She did, and she beat the odds of 1 in 749,398 to win the Cash 5 jackpot.
“You never think you’re actually going to win,” Craft said.
She claimed her prize Thursday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required state and federal tax withholdings, she took home $103,903. She plans to invest the money.
She bought the $1 ticket at the Fast Food Mart #3 on Broad Street in Durham.
Ticket sales from games like Cash 5 made it possible for the lottery to raise more than $600 million for the state last year. For details on how more than $84.2 million in lottery funds has made a difference in Durham County, click on the “For Education” section of the lottery’s website.