Raymond Noel of Raleigh said he wants to use part of his $288,696 Cash 5 jackpot to take a vacation, but is still deciding where to go.

“I know I want to stay in the U.S.,” Noel said. “I like entertainment like comedy shows, so that’s what I’m going to be looking for when I decide where to go. The best part is that I can take it whenever I want.”

The retired General Motors quality supervisor beat odds of one in 749,398 to win Friday’s jackpot. He checked his ticket Saturday morning on his phone.

“I saw that I matched four numbers, so I knew I won something,” Noel said. “I didn’t catch the fifth number until I took it to the store and had it scanned. I thought I was dreaming at first. It’s a good thing I didn’t realize how much I won all of a sudden, or I might have fallen over.”

Noel claimed the jackpot Monday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required state and federal tax withholdings, he took home $203,534.

He bought the $1 Quick Pick ticket at Team Beverage on Louisburg Road in Raleigh.

Ticket sales from draw games like Cash 5 make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $600 million dollars a year for education. For details on how lottery funds have made a difference in all of North Carolina’s 100 counties click on the “Impact” section of the lottery’s website.