Cash 5 rolls; Mega Millions, Powerball tix win big

January 23, 2012 Posted by NC Lottery at 11:59 AM

The ticketholders may not know it yet, but three tickets sold in North Carolina are worth big prizes for drawings held over the weekend.

Two Mega Millions tickets matched four white balls and the Mega Ball in Friday’s drawing. The first, worth $10,000, was sold at the Market Basket on Wilkesboro Avenue in North Wilkesboro in – you guessed it! – Wilkes County.

The second Mega Millions ticket was Megaplied with a Megaplier of two, making it worth $20,000. Christine Grice of Chadbourn in Columbus County, purchased the ticket at Hill’s Food Store on JK Powell Boulevard in Whiteville, which is also in Columbus County. Last summer, a Whiteville couple won a $248,982 Cash 5 jackpot on a lucky ticket from the same store. We called the store to get their reaction to selling another big-winning ticket. "As always, we like to congratulate the winner and thank them for choosing to shop with us to buy their tickets," said store manager Edward Ward.

As for Cash 5, because no tickets matched all five numbers over the weekend, the jackpot for Monday’s drawing rolled to $229,000.

Matching four white balls and the Powerball Saturday night means $10,000 for a lucky Powerball player who purchased a ticket purchased at the Bi-Lo on Lawyers Road in Charlotte. The Powerball jackpot, meanwhile, rolled to $120 million for Wednesday’s drawing.

Hopefully we’ll meet these big winners soon, along with other lucky ticketholders, this week.

36 COMMENTS

2/04/2012 10:42 - Michael R.

LOL, wow. I will say it again, being that I understand math. If you have two groups of 300,000 people in a randon game, then what makes this group(pie) so much more luckier than that group? I'm not buying that the Cash 5 is more popular in Cumberland County than New Hanover and Brunswick combined. The Cash 5 odds aren't high like the Power Ball and MegaMillions so this makes my point even more concrete. I'm finished now Lucke.

2/03/2012 05:13 - NC Lottery

@ DEEP1 - It's most likely just a combination of the game being popular there, and good old-fashioned random luck. We wish you the best of luck! :-)

2/03/2012 03:55 - Michael R.

Lucke-Zone no two counties in Northeastern NC will equal the population of Cumberland County but as a group of counties they would. However,if you wanna use two counties in a different region then New Hanover and Brunswick County will be close to the population of Cumberland, so if all things are equal, then in a random drawing, they should come close to the same amount of winners as Cumberland County. I just find it odd that every time I blink, Cumberland County is winning another Cash 5.

2/03/2012 11:50 - NC Lottery

@ DEEP1 - Nobody who plays the lottery has an overwhelming advantage over anybody else. If a game is more popular in one area, and produces more ticket sales, then - over time - that area will have more winning and non-winning tickets in proportion with the odds of winning. Tell us what two counties with the approximate population of Cumberland we're talking about and we can look at the number of retailers there compared to Cumberland.

2/02/2012 09:30 - JOANN M.

LUCKE-ZONE SHORT ANSWER I READ YOUR ANSWER BUT STILL I SAY IN THE FIRST FEW DAY'S YOU HAVE WINNER'S AND THEN NOTHING....

2/02/2012 05:12 - Michael R.

Lucke-Zone,what I'm saying is in math, you have two pies and both consist of 300,000 people like Cumberland County and doing a random drawing, then one pie shouldn't have an overwhelming advantage in its combination being drawn over the other pie. You can take two counties together with the equivalent population of Cumberland County and they've come nowhere close to 29 jackpots.

2/02/2012 09:28 - NC Lottery

@ JOANN - The short answer is, its all random.. winning and non-winning ticktes are distributed at random throughout the entire printing run of every instant game.

2/01/2012 06:13 - JOANN M.

QUESTION FOR LUCKE-ZONE. WHY IS THAT WHEN THE STRATCH OFF'S FIRST COME OUT YOU GET QUIT A FEW WINNERS AT FIRST BUT AS YOU CONTINUE TO PLAY THE SAME STRATCH OFF YOU HAVE NO WINNINGS.I HAVE NOTICED THAT WHEN PLAYING THE STRATCH OFF'S. AND I BUY FROM DIFFERENT STORE'S.

1/31/2012 01:24 - NC Lottery

Also, @ DEEP - What counties are we talking about in Northeastern NC? Cumberland had 255 active lottery retailers last year. It's likely that ticket sales are much higher in Cumberland, which means both more winning tickets and more non-winning tickets.

1/31/2012 01:19 - NC Lottery

@ DEEP1 - Shares of 502 Cash 5 jackpots have been awarded since the game began. 29 of 502 is 5.7%. When you take into account the fact that a) drawings are random, meaning any place could be "lucky" and b) having Cash 5 winners in Cumberland County could mean the game is popular there, it all adds up just the way you'd expect it to. Everyone with a Cash 5 ticket has the exact same chance of winning, regardless of where they live or play.

1/31/2012 12:33 - Michael R.

Cumberland County has like 3 to 4% of the states population yet has 29 Cash 5 Jackpots. You can argue that the few counties in Northeastern NC together will have an equivalent population of Cumberland County, and yet comes nowhere close to 29 cash 5 winners from my recollection. If it's a random drawing system, then this make no sense. And no, Greenville and Rocky Mount areas are not Northeastern NC.

1/31/2012 12:00 - NC Lottery

@ BKEARNEY220 - Our new executive director actually accepted a lower salary than her predecessor, and combined senior positions in the organization to streamline our operation. The NCEL is committed to continuing to perform at a high level where we are able to award more in prizes and return more to education as we have for five years in a row. We appreciate players and retailers across the state who've helped us do that.

1/31/2012 10:54 - Barbara K.

I know"Salaries for the top lottery officials are among the highest in the state"Quote!!!!!This is just sad,

1/31/2012 06:58 - joe B.

IN CHECKING THE TICKETS THAT STILL HAVE THE BIG TOTALS LIKE IN THE 20$ BLOWOUT GAME.ALL THE 4 MILL AND 1 MILL PLUS THE 20 THOU ARE STILL IN THERE AFTER A MONTH OF SELLING THE TICKETS ISN'T THAT ODD THAT THEY ARE STILL IN THE SO CALLED SECURED CLOSET.

1/30/2012 09:55 - NC Lottery

@ PLAYER - Glad to hear you had some luck on your tickets!

1/30/2012 06:52 - bruce s.

finally won something not a bad week purchased 5 tickets 5-dollars won 100.00,5-dollars won 50.00,10-dollars won 25.00,10-dollars won 10.00 and purchased a 20-dollar ticket won 0,plus missed my cash 5 numbers by one number..... not a bad week lucke-zone.

1/30/2012 10:27 - NC Lottery

@BADDCATT326 - The odds of winning via Quick Pick or choosing your own numbers are exactly the same. But, more people quick pick. So we see more winners who quick picked. But not because the chances are better, but rather simply because more people play that way.

1/30/2012 10:22 - NC Lottery

@ BKEARNEY220 - Last fiscal year, the lottery devoted about 1.1% of revenues for salaries and benefits. All the information you're asking about with regard to salaries is already public information that you can research on the web.

1/29/2012 12:59 - Barbara K.

Does the salaries of people working for state lottery come out of the tickets purchased?I want a job so I will not have to worry about the lottery.I think all of the employees salerys should be posted on this site also so the people can know what the money they are losing is going for.Vacation days,insurance.bonus etc.I bet they would be surprised.

1/28/2012 09:20 - clara m.

Lucke zone i haven't plyed mch powerball or megamillions, is it better to do a quick pic or pic ur wn numbers?I mostly play scratch offs.Hav preety good luck with those.Not all,butmost of the times.

1/28/2012 06:51 - NC Lottery

@ DEEP1 - You guys should really attend a live drawing sometime.

1/28/2012 05:54 - Michael R.

I'm in the same mindset as MacMillion. The numbers appear to be pre-chosen. Also, I believe they know exactly where they want the Cash 5 winner to come from. Just let those balls fall and stop choosing where you want the winner to come from!!!

1/28/2012 10:12 - Godner B.

*Good Money*. I hope the winnings brings many blessings and happiness to the winners. *Still Waiting For My Big Day* Patience Is Virtue. Until then, keep playing.

1/27/2012 12:03 - dillard b.

would love to win the power ball saturday. dont win on the lottery, but win small on scratch off.

1/27/2012 09:42 - NC Lottery

@ MACMILLION - Yes, we have an obligation to every player to make sure draw equipment is functioning correctly so that everyone with a ticket has the same chance of winning. What happens in one drawing, whether its a test draw or a previous live draw, has zero impact/influence over what number will be drawn in the next live draw. It's 100% random every time.

1/26/2012 07:56 - Roger K.

i play the same numbers all the time also,but i have won some on them and lost some.more lost than won...buy i still keep playing them....hope to win the big prize....

1/26/2012 07:08 - MINNIE R.

no ever wins in timberlake

1/26/2012 05:25 - Donnell G.

I have had better luck with QPs than playing the same numbers with mega millions and powerball. Be careful with pick 3.. Last year,same number combos hit over and over again, while some combos did not hit at all. They have what you call pre-draws.

1/26/2012 04:46 - Patrick D.

It would be great for NC to have power-up options on the Cash 5 for more chances to win. congrats to all the winners and best of luck to the rest of you who's in the quest to win something big as i am. NCEL you rock!

1/26/2012 08:14 - Kathy I.

I have played the same 2 sets of numbers for the Cash 5 and 1 set of numbers for the MegaMillion and PowerBall for 20 months now (did not miss a single day of playing). You would think I would have won more than a few bucks during this time. It appears the people who have the computer pick their numbers have more luck than those who play specific numbers day in and day out. Last year I spent over $1,500 playing the lottery and won less than $100. While I realize the odds of hitting it big in the lottery is slim to none you would think my specific numbers would have hit at least 4 of them during the last 20 months.

1/25/2012 02:19 - Hilda H.

congrats to everyone that did win something....I really would like to someday win millions

1/25/2012 10:41 - NC Lottery

@ TERESA - New packs of tickets go on sale in stores as they're reordered by stores.. the "Bucks Family" of games are a little different than most, because they are continuously on sale as opposed to beginning and ending.

1/24/2012 11:10 - terry f.

we need to power-up on cash 5 like other states!!

1/24/2012 08:17 - Teresa D.

I check your website often to see what scratch offs have top prizes remaining on them and I've had some luck with the three I'm currently working with. Although, Jumbo Bucks (which is $10) states on your website that their still several top prizes of ($750,000) on them... are the tickets even in circulation, yet? What's the life-line of a scratch off? Congrats to all the winners thus far! My day is coming soon....a multi-millionaire, you seen it here first!!

1/24/2012 07:41 - annie s.

i would love to win millions,i only win small on scratch offs but i do believe that i am going to hit it big one day!

1/23/2012 06:05 - Roger K.

congrats to the winners,just waiting for my turn to win....soon....did win 55.00 dollars on 2 scratch offs..1st ticket,no win,2nd tic 50.00 bucks,3rd tic had 5 bucks..love the MEGA BUCKS RED..game...I always win on them,just hoping one day soon,the top prize....

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Cash 5 rolls; Mega Millions, Powerball tix win big

January 23, 2012 Posted by NC Lottery at 11:59 AM

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