Family birthdates paid off for Rhodora Reeves of Elizabeth City when they won her half of a $455,084 Cash 5 jackpot.

“It’s the birthdays of my kids,” she said.

Reeves plans to put the prize money towards her children’s education.

“I think it’s every parent’s dream for their kids,” she said. “So, that’s what I want to do.”

Reeves purchased her ticket for the April 1 drawing at the 7-Eleven on South Hughes Boulevard in Elizabeth City.

The day after the drawing, she checked her numbers on the NC Lottery Official Mobile App.

“I was actually surprised to find out I got the combination,” she recalled. “I was very happy.”

Her ticket was one of two to match all five balls in the drawing. The other winning ticket was won by Edward Estes of Greensboro.

Reeves claimed her prize Thursday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required federal and state tax withholdings, she took home $160,990.

Carolina Cash 5 tickets are $1 and drawings are held every night. Friday’s jackpot is $263,000.

The odds of winning a Cash 5 jackpot are 1 in 962,598.

Cash 5 is one of four lottery games in North Carolina where players have the option of buying their tickets through Online Play on the lottery’s website or with the NC Lottery Official Mobile App.

Ticket sales from draw games like Cash 5 make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $725 million per year for education. For details on how $2.3 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Pasquotank County in 2020, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.