$234,577 Cash 5 jackpot means nine dreams can become reality

John Ennis of Asheville said he plans to use a $234,577 Cash 5 jackpot to help his nine grandnieces and nephews with their future dreams.

“I’m going to use this money to pay off bills and open up CDs for my grandnieces and nephews to go towards their college,” said Ennis. “I want to be smart about how I spend it”.

Using his own numbers, Ennis purchased the ticket for Thursday’s drawing from Citistop on Charlotte Street in Asheville. The $1 ticket beat odds of one in 749,398 to win the jackpot.

“I saw that I had matched four of the numbers and thought I had won $290,” Ennis said. “Then I looked again at the fifth number and said, ‘Wait a minute, I don’t believe it’. I called my roommate in and we checked the ticket over and over. Sure enough, all five numbers matched”.

Ennis claimed his winnings Tuesday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required state and federal tax withholdings, he took home $165,380.