Deborah Seay of Kings Mountain said a $186,766 Cash 5 jackpot will help her take care of her family and allow her to look toward a dream of having a lake house.

“My brother passed away last year, so my 85-year-old mother came to live with me,” said Seay. “I adopted my autistic grandchild June the 10th and my older son has a disability.”

Seay, who worked at the Salvation Army for 20 years and now works as an apartment manager, decided to take a chance on a Cash 5 ticket for the Aug. 3 drawing after her coworkers and tenants shared that they played the game.

So, on her way home from work, she stopped at the Silver Express on East King Street in Kings Mountain and bought a single Quick Pick ticket.

The next afternoon as she sat on her porch, Seay cleaned out old receipts from her wallet to find her Cash 5 ticket.

“I pulled out the numbers and I looked and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh,’” she recalled. “So, I called my baby son out on the deck and I showed him the phone and showed him the ticket.”

Seay claimed her prize Monday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required federal and state tax withholdings, she took home $132,137.

“I just like the idea of knowing that I have that money in case something happens because so many people are depending on me,” said Seay. Of her prize money, she said, “I want a house in Denver one day, up on the lake, and eventually I think that I’m gonna get there.”

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, through Online Play on the lottery’s website, or on the NC Lottery Official Mobile app.

Thursday’s Cash 5 jackpot is $222,000.

Ticket sales from draw games make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $725 million per year for education. For details on how $6.1 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Cleveland County in 2019, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.