Carolina Cash 5 is getting bigger and better!

October 5, 2018 Posted by NC Lottery at 8:46 AM

We’ve got some exciting news for Cash 5 players. Starting in November, you’re going to see bigger and faster growing jackpots.

On Sunday, Nov. 4, starting jackpots will double from $50,000 to $100,000. You’ve seen this change during special Cash 5 promotions, but now we’re making it permanent. This means the starting jackpot for Cash 5 will stay at $100,000.

You’re also going to see faster growing jackpots. Instead of the jackpot increasing by $3,000 if it isn’t hit, now it will increase by at least $10,000.

The game will still cost $1 to play, but the range of numbers to choose from will move from 1-41 to 1-43. The odds of winning a Cash 5 jackpot will increase to 1 in 962,598. The overall odds of winning a prize will be 1 in 10.51.

Lower tier prizes will now be a set amount. If you match four numbers, you win $250. If you match three, you win $5; and if you match two, you win $1.

What is called a “multi-draw step-down” begins Sunday. Starting then, a player will be able to buy a multi-draw ticket for a maximum of 27 drawings. Each day the number of multi-draw plays possible will step down by one drawing until it reaches zero the day before the updated game begins.

If you have questions about the changes to the game or the multi-draw step-down, the best way to get your questions answered is to call Customer Services between 8 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, at (877) 962-7529.

We hope you'll enjoy the new version of Carolina Cash 5.

52 COMMENTS

10/27/2018 12:45 - Michael M.

Quick question. Do we still get the increased starting jackpots like we used to? One month out of the year the Cash 5 would start out at $100k instead of $50k. I always loved playing during these months as the jackpot would grow faster, because more people would play. NC Lottery
Good question Michael- There is always a possibility that we'll offer a similar promotion with the new version of Cash 5. We always try to offer fun options for our players. So stay tuned. Will we now get a $200k starting jackpot for a month out of the year like we used to? Or is that completely gone now?

10/17/2018 10:54 - Denver G.

David, the 1st thing that comes to my mind is that the NCEL wants the jackpot to grow so ticket sales will increase. Scratch offs are printed months if not years in advance. Changes to draw games are decided way in advance. People make suggestion to no avail because the decisions were already made a long long time ago. My advice to players is just spend a few bucks within your budget. Don't go all in , or you will be all out !!! Out in the street with no roof over your head and no food to put on the table that you no longer own.

10/16/2018 07:16 - David B.

Denver your exactly right. We did voice our outrage on the last game change to no evail. If you would,give me your input for the reason of the game change. Thanks!

10/16/2018 04:14 - Denver G.

I agree with you David. NO I am not happy with the 2 more numbers and higher odds of winning. Anymore then I was exactly 2 years ago when they added 2 more numbers. We all complained then , but still kept playing. Only good thing is the starting over at $100k after each win & faster growing jackpots. Still only a buck at a chance for big money and WAY better odds of winning $100k and up then PB or MM.

10/16/2018 03:08 - David B.

Denver G. I know,just making a point.Va.C5 4 of 5 approx 1 in 2000 NCEL C5 approx 1 in 4000 now. Odds will be higher with new game. Is it worth it for an extra $150? So, you don’t mind the increase in the odds? What was wrong with the original format? Nothing!

10/16/2018 12:04 - Denver G.

David B, you make some good points, but not all about VA c5 is good. Jackpot starts & stays at 100k, never increases. 4of5 only pays $100,3of5 only $5, 2of5 pays zip. Twice a day drawings are not always a good thing (more money spent). Even at twice a day the $100k jackpot was hit only once the entire month of October so far. Not sure, but I think you will have to pay state taxes in VA & NC. Everyone is free to play or not, whenever and wherever. No one is twisting anybody's arm forcing them to play the lottery.

10/15/2018 06:02 - Timothy A.

I have been playing Cash 5 since it started ! This adding 2 more numbers is BS !! I will no longer play ! Who's bright idea was this ? If it's not BROKE don't fix it ! Why don't yu ask the players ?? Need new people to run the lottery ! NOW !

10/15/2018 05:18 - David B.

NC counties that border the Va.line are crazy to buy C5 tickets in NC.Here are the facts about the Va.C5. 1.starts out at 100k 2. odds are 1 in 278,257 to win jackpot 3.2 draws Day and Night 4.$1 per game or with an option to play .50 or .25 cents Go Figure!

10/15/2018 02:12 - David B.

NCEL.. No Chance Eveybody Loses

10/15/2018 02:03 - David B.

I’ve already posted about how the NCEL is a big scam and they aren’t afraid to show it !New C5,bigger and better for the people of NC(not to win)! All the people want is decent chance to win a little money! You jerks have really screwed up the NCEL! It’s time for a new leadership to take charge. Get the NCEL moving back in the right direction again! How do the decision makers get put onto the position of such great power anyway? GET THEM Out! Time to make some changes for the good of the people of NC! Well.. enough of my rant! Tomorrow my weekly seven draws of my five sets of numbers runs out! Then of to my favorite NCEL retailer not to buy my $35 weekly ticket but to fill my car up with gas. Drive to Danville Va. with my $210 for 26 draws of my 5 sets of number or maybe $410 because they draw twice a day! Good Riddance to the NCEL!

10/14/2018 04:11 - Paul B.

Does anyone actually win anymore than 5$ on the cash 5 EZ match? I know at least 5 or 6 cashiers and they say they never see anyone wins more than 20$ on Ez match i play EZmatch everytime im talking 100's of dollars in ez match and nothing more than 5$ ive never won 10,20,50,100,200,500, dollars what is the odds on the EZ match tickets??? NC Lottery
Hey Paul, We can assure you that there are players winning with EZ Match! The overall odds of winning a prize with EZ Match is 1 in 4.71. You can see the odds for all prize levels here: https://nclottery.com/Cash5How

10/13/2018 04:48 - Stephen R.

If luck has it thank how does James Boone win so many times. Look him up people he has won at least 5 times so far, has someone told him how to play maybe a insider from nclottery. If he wins again soon a investigation should be held ...just saying happy gambling.NC Lottery
Hey Stephen, We can assure you that all of our second-chance and Lucke-Rewards drawings are secure and conducted according to strict security procedures in the presence of an auditor. That auditors job is to verify the results to ensure fairness to all players.

10/13/2018 08:27 - Wendy P.

disappointed, i agree with Beverly R. - its hard enough to win already, a bigger jackpot & odds stack against winning doesnt excite me either. I've won 4 out of 5 before & won $279. Now it will be reduced to $250 when this change takes place. oh well, i guess thats "gambling"...

10/12/2018 07:20 - Roger K.

well, well, well, Cash5 change. I like the 100,000 starting jackpot. I agree with the 4 numbers should be higher than 250.00, why not 350.00 or 450.00. Three numbers right should be at least 10 or 20 bucks.. two numbers should be 2 bucks. I win mostly on two numbers right. Been way over three years since I have won 4 numbers right. That's how hard it is to win at all. No RNG drawing right? Still will play, it is what it is....I hope I will be the 1 in 962,598.NC Lottery
Hi Roger, Thanks for your feedback. At this time the Cash 5 will continue to be a live televised draw. There are no plans to add a random number generator instead.

10/12/2018 10:17 - Gary C.

It seems like a $250 prize for matching 4 out of 5 numbers is too small. I would be disappointed to get that close and only win $250. I would be happy with a $500 - $1,000 range win though.

10/11/2018 09:01 - Sanjay B.

I have suggestion that like other state NC education lottery can create option for Fireball in PiCk 3 and Pick 4 so players have more chances to win the game.NC Lottery
Thanks for the suggestion, Sanjay! We are always looking for ways to improve our games, and will share your feedback with the folks who make those decisions.

10/11/2018 08:32 - Beverly R.

A commenter posted he would be fine with a twice daily Cash 5 drawing. PLEASE DON'T DO THIS. That only doubles the amount of money players spend (you'd hate to only play morning and have your numbers come up in the evening, for example) and we are spending enough as it is. Once a day is plenty for Cash 5.NC Lottery
Thanks for sharing your feedback, Beverly! Not to worry, at this time there are no plans to add draw times to the Cash 5 game.

10/11/2018 05:40 - Jeff J.

Getting better! Yeah right, for the lottery and not the players.

10/11/2018 03:43 - Vivian C.

Hi.i admitted over 300 tickets in sept.for the whole month 75 each day..applied to each game..how is it i didn't win nothing..how do the computer pick point for prizes..i don't under stand and i faithfully entered sec.chance lottery every day... NC Lottery
Hi Vivian, We can certainly understand where you are coming from. Our Lucke-Rewards program has hundreds of thousands of members, with many drawings reaching entry totals upwards to the millions. While having multiple entries does help increase your chances of winning a prize, even someone with just one entry has a chance to win. Our Lucke-Rewards and second-chance drawings are conducted in the presence of an auditor to verify the results, and the drawing itself is conducted using a certified random number generator according to specific security procedures to ensure fairness to all of our players. It's important to remember that with games of chance, your entries only guarantee you a chance of winning. Good luck to you.

10/10/2018 09:33 - John P.

With the new changes I will not be playing c5 anymore. I would much rather have a lower starting prize then a higher chance of winning. Very disappointed with nc lottery.

10/10/2018 06:09 - olethia b.

What is the exact time one have to be on nc lottery to play second chance. I’m a little confused. I enters my tickets but I’m not sure if I’m really on. Would be nice if there was a symbol or Spyro let you know you are in the drawing. Just a thought. NC Lottery
Hey there Olethia, In order to be entered into a second-chance drawing you don't have to be online at a certain time, all you have to do is scan your ticket before the entry period for that drawing ends. To enter a second-chance drawing, all you have to do is scan the ticket like you would to collect Lucke-Rewards points. When you scan it, you will be automatically entered into the second-chance drawing for that ticket. You can view how many entries you have by visiting the "Draws" page and selecting the second-chance tab at the top. Let us know if you have any other questions!

10/10/2018 10:53 - Diamond R.

I pray that the odds be in my favor. Either way, seeing the words "bigger and better" got me excited. I am sticking with the same numbers that I have been playing and I have faith that ALL 5 will come out soon! Thank you NCEL for the motivation.NC Lottery
We're wishing you good luck, Diamond!

10/10/2018 07:26 - Beverly R.

It's hard enough to win already. Now the odds are increasing? It would be better to let the top prize remain at 50k rather than go to 100k and up the odds of winning. There is nothing exciting about a higher jackpot if it will be even more odds stacked against players. Also total bummer to limit prize to 250 for hitting 4 numbers. Four numbers used to have a chance of winning 300-500 sometimes depending on how large the jackpot was. Nothing exciting about this news.

10/09/2018 12:36 - Roslyn K.

YES, WILL BE PLAYING MY LUCKY CASH 5 NUMBERS!

10/09/2018 11:06 - Darlene S.

I like that the top prize is doubling starting out, but I don't like that the lower tier prizes are not increasing, especially with the numbers going from 1-41 to 1-43. Just wanted to throw that out there, so I may not be playing like I used to. I do like that getting 2 #'s get's you at least enough to play ticket again ( I know you tried to take that away before)! Thanks for listening.

10/09/2018 08:35 - Denver G.

Dang !!! 2,200 entries 44,000 points!! Most players (myself included) don't even have that in the monthly drawings for the entire year combined. Cheese whiz. I'm still trying to rap my head around how people get those large number of entries. That's a lot of tickets.

10/09/2018 05:44 - Mike S.

Stephen, don't feel bad. I've entered just about every 2nd chance and redeemed almost 30,000 points this year alone and have never won anything - ever!

10/08/2018 08:28 - Danny P.

How many entries in 10/10/18 (100)- 1 Pack of Instant Game #634-Power Mega MillionsNC Lottery
Hey Danny! We wanted to let you know that we're checking on that and will post an update here as soon as we get that number. ***Hi Danny, The total entries for the 10/10 Mega Power Pack drawing was 24,786.

10/08/2018 02:50 - Stephen R.

And don't even talk to me about the odds of winning when I see lots of names that win more than once, are they cheating some how or maybe the nclottery is their friend!!NC Lottery
Hey Stephen, We're sorry you're not having more luck. We wish every entry could be a winner, but unfortunately that is not the case. The lottery does not favor any players in any of our drawings. Our second-chance and Lucke-Rewards drawings are conducted in the presence of an auditor who verifies the results. With Lucke-Rewards and second-chance drawings, the more entries you have, the better your odds might be of winning. Without knowing a winner's situation, it is impossible to tell you how much luck factored into their win or how many entries they had. It's important to remember that having just one entry gives you a chance to win as well!

10/08/2018 02:40 - Stephen R.

I hate to say this but I,m done playing luck e rewards second chance games . I have spent too much time and money to not win anything.I entered 2200 entries on campfire cash that should have got me something but no. Tired of getting ripped off!!!

10/08/2018 11:40 - bradley s.

Well well. NCEL greed knows no bounds. Really ? You increase odds/ add 2 more numbers and can't even structure 4/5 or 3/5?number hits any better? What a joke and scam ploy. Bigger starting jackpot to sucker poor people in and pathetic odds increase. You idiots Really got it Wrong AGAIN. Sad joke

10/08/2018 11:39 - Stephen R.

Has the winners for the campfire cash been picked yet ? If so nothing has been posted.NC Lottery
Hi there Stephen, Yes, the winners have been drawn for last week's Lucke-Rewards drawings. They are in the process of being notified via email and their names will be posted on the "Draws" page once they have claimed their prize.

10/08/2018 11:09 - joanie m.

That helps but you would think it would still say their was a winner on the date it was won on like powerball they may collect on a different date but it will say if their was a winner on Saturday game it says 2 people won 50,000 its just Monday I know they have not already collect their winnings by Monday but it is showing 2 winners for October 6thNC Lottery
That's a great suggestion, Joanie. We will pass it along to our web team for a possible update. In the meantime, we are always happy to help find the info you are looking for here on the blog!

10/08/2018 10:46 - Edward M.

Will the EZ Match still be available?NC Lottery
Hey Edward, It will! If it wasn't mentioned in this post, it will be remaining the same.

10/08/2018 10:39 - joanie m.

I was checking lucky for life on October 1st if you go on it says Arturo Gonzales won 5000 dollars in Charlotte nc if you check past draws on luck for life it shows 0 winners for 5000 dollars on October 1st also sept 24 and 27th on the high lights it shows winners but not on past draws it says 0 winners NC Lottery
Hey there Joanie! The date listed on the Winner's Board is the date that a winner claimed their prize, not the date of the drawing. Arturo's win was from the September 13th drawing, but he claimed on October 1st. Hope this helps!

10/08/2018 10:25 - joanie m.

I am happy about cash 5 I have been playing the same numbers about 6 years it's time for a win

10/08/2018 09:45 - cedric h.

Nice

10/07/2018 10:43 - Virginia G.

Good luck everyone!

10/07/2018 10:43 - Virginia G.

Good luck everyone!

10/07/2018 06:32 - larry L.

Bigger isn't always Better.

10/06/2018 03:47 - David S.

Scam just like the money goes for education. Not true. After the hurricane, where's the help to repair schools in onslow, pender, new Hanover at?? NC Lottery
Hi, David. We know the need is great after Florence. We have lottery employees who are suffering from flood damage and we too have children who attend schools in the affected communities. 100% of our profits go to education but the monies are allocated at the end of the fiscal year. Last year, Onslow County received $11,170,238 in lottery funds. New Hanover received $10,855,870 in lottery funds. Pender received $3,628,883 in lottery funds. You can see exactly where the money goes on our Impact page, and you can see our audited financial statements on our Corporate Social Responsibility page.

10/06/2018 03:44 - David S.

NCEL this is a bunch of crap. 250.00 for matching 4 numbers, is that a joke? It's not April yet so must be true. I've played the cash 5 from day one. I have a set of numbers that of course have never come out. Odds of that is insane. More like a scam. However, I have gotten 4 out 5 a few times. My point each time I received more than this petty 250.00. My lowest was 326.00 my highest was 537.00 so where's the common ground? As for me I will no longer play this game as of Oct. 30. Say bye bye to a long time player that's never won anything from your scams

10/06/2018 02:48 - George W.

Every time I try to buy a ticket online it always say unable to find my exact NC Lottery
Hi there, George. First verify that you are accessing the app from within North Carolina. If you are in North Carolina and still receive the error, try connecting to a Wi-Fi or land based connection instead of a cellular connection. If you continue to receive the error contact the help line at 1-855-767-1863.

10/06/2018 09:07 - betty r.

I think if you match 4 numbers the winning amount should be more, 3 numbers should be more like $250, 2 numbers $5...

10/06/2018 08:47 - Charlene H.

Outstanding!

10/06/2018 12:37 - David B.

You know the odds of winning $100k in the Va. Cash 5 is 270,000 to 1 !!! What’s wrong with those odds? Scared the poor people of NC are going to win some money?!!! Your a bunch of THIEVES!!!

10/06/2018 12:31 - Kimberli F.

Cash5 has always been my favorite draw game. Disappointed with the upcoming changes. The odds are no longer as good.

10/06/2018 12:21 - David B.

Well,got your greedy little fingers in the pie again! The NCEL won’t be satisfied until they take all the people’s money! Changing the cash5 so that You never win ! Odds started out around 570,000 went to 750,000 and now 960,000 to 1 !!! What a bunch of bull*!! What was wrong with the 570,000 to 1 odds? People just want to win a little something!! But now 970,000 to 1! I play C5 and Lucky for Life the only good games to play! But now LFL is the only game I’m playing! I’m retired,so I’ll make the drive to Va. every 3 months for my tickets As usual the NCEL screws up everything. I’m sure you want miss my $55 a week I hope a lot more people feel this Way!! Boycott the NCEL!!! Bunch of money sucking THIEVES!!!

10/05/2018 11:21 - Evgeny P.

Was trying to purchase c5 ticket with numbers 3,10,13,17,36 from 10:41 pm 10/5/2018 till the cut-off at 11 and the system kept returning "An error occurred during your Online Play purchase". NC Lottery
Hi there, Evgeny. Thank you for letting the social team know. We have alerted our web folks and they will look into the issue. Thank you for being patient with us as we figure out what is going on. If you try now, does the same error message appear?

10/05/2018 04:17 - JIM B.

I would personally be fine with this if only you could make the drawings twice a day. The only way i play the 40's is if they come out on a Quick Pick. It is what it is.

10/05/2018 01:37 - Stephen R.

I like the start out money at 100.000 but four numbers should be more like 1 thousand and three numbers at 250 keep two numbers at 1 dollar . That's what it should be lets be fair nclottery .

10/05/2018 12:40 - Alvin H.

Why if you have 4 numbers you only going to get $250.00 that’s a very low payout. So it’s like winner take all, because if the jackpot gets up to say $250,000 and you have 4 numbers you only going get $250.00 4 out 5 numbers should payout at least $500.00 Also can you please raise Multi draw for pick-3 and pick-4 to 14-draws? 7-draws is way to low. NC Lottery
Hey Alvin, We hear you. Right now, if a player matches four numbers, their prize is pari-mutuel. That means that you share 12% of the prize pool with the other players who also matched four numbers. That could end up being a few people, or it could be many. We hope that players will appreciate this new prize level because now if they match four out of five numbers, they know exactly how much they have won!

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Carolina Cash 5 is getting bigger and better!

October 5, 2018 Posted by NC Lottery at 8:46 AM

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