John Bubba of Leicester couldn’t believe his eyes when he discovered his $216,523 Cash 5 jackpot win.
“It was April Fool’s,” Bubba recalled with a laugh.
He drove to the Old New Found Grocery on Old New Found Road in Leicester after mowing his lawn.
His ticket matched all five white balls in the April 1 drawing, winning him the jackpot.
Bubba claimed his prize Friday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required federal and state tax withholdings, he took home $154,815.
“I feel real good,” he said.
With this prize he hopes to pay off his house and share some of the win with his adult children.
Cash 5 is one of six lottery games in North Carolina where players have the option of buying their tickets at a retail location or with Online Play through the lottery’s website or with the NC Lottery Official Mobile App. Saturday’s jackpot is $120,000.
For details on how $11.3 million raised by the lottery made a difference for education programs in Buncombe County last year, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.