Presley Sanders of Salisbury said he drove around for three days with a Cash 5 ticket worth over half a million dollars and didn’t even realize it.

Sanders got the ticket for the Dec. 8 drawing at the Food Lion where he works on Statesville Boulevard in Salisbury.

“I usually always pick my own numbers,” Sanders said. Instead, he bought five Quick Pick tickets.

The next morning, while getting coffee, he found out someone from Salisbury won the $559,582 jackpot.

“I thought, ‘Well, that could be me,’ but I had misplaced my tickets,” Sanders said. “I found them three days later just sitting in my truck on the floorboard.”

When he checked the fifth ticket, he saw that it matched all five numbers.

“It’s hard to believe I actually won,” Sanders said. “I’ve come close before, but this time I finally did.”

Sanders beat odds of one in 962,598 to win the jackpot. He claimed his jackpot Thursday. After required state and federal tax withholdings, he took home $395,771. Sanders said he plans to use some of the money to help his children and grandchildren. He’ll put the rest in savings.

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.

Ticket sales from draw games like Cash 5 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. https://www.nclottery.com.