Hurricane victims Patricia and Frank Raffa of Arden said a $325,004 Cash 5 jackpot will help them start over.

“We were living in the Virgin Islands until Hurricane Irma destroyed our home,” Frank said. “We lost everything and moved to North Carolina to be with our daughter.”

“This is a miracle,” Patrica said. “This is going to let us get a new home and pick up the pieces.”

The couple’s good fortune happened Wednesday when they stopped at the Energy Mart Store on Long Shoals Road in Arden and bought a $1 Cash 5 ticket.

“We always use our own numbers,” Patricia said. “The first numbers were my birthday, 3 and 17. I was born on St. Patrick’s Day. The luck of the Irish!”

They checked the numbers the next morning over coffee.

“The first thing I saw was that someone hit the jackpot,” Frank said. “I thought, ‘Good for them.’ When I saw that we were the ones who hit I couldn’t believe it.”

“I thought he was having a heart attack at first,” Patricia said. “I told him he needed to calm down before he dropped dead. But then he told me we hit the jackpot.”

The couple claimed the prize Friday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required state and federal tax withholdings, they took home $229,131.

Cash 5 is a statewide draw game that gives players the chance to win a jackpot every single night. Tickets cost $1 and players can buy tickets at most lottery retailers or through Online Play on the lottery’s website, www.nclottery.com.

Cash 5 jackpots normally start at $50,000, but during the month of August the lottery is starting the jackpot at $100,000 as part of a special $100K Days promotion.

The jackpot for tonight’s drawing is $110,000.
Ticket sales from draw games make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $650 million 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.