A lottery ticket worth almost half a million dollars sat on the seat of Albert Belk’s truck for two weeks before he remembered it, checked it, and discovered he had won a Cash 5 jackpot.
Belk, a retired mechanic, said he bought the ticket on April 30 and tossed it on the seat of his truck where it stayed because he wasn’t driving much due to the COVID-19 virus. So, he didn’t know that in the Cash 5 drawing that same night, his Quick Pick ticket matched all five numbers to win the $468,052 jackpot.
About two weeks later, Belk ventured out to Hop In & Out on Talbert Boulevard in Lexington to buy a Mega Millions ticket and noticed the old Cash 5 ticket. He checked the ticket at the store and found out he had a big winner.
“I was thinking this is great,” recalled Belk about the moment in the store. “Real exciting.”
Belk claimed his prize at lottery headquarters in Raleigh on Tuesday. After federal and state tax withholdings, he took home $331,147.
He said he bought his wife a 2018 Cadillac CT6, will do some home improvements, and then put the rest into savings.
His lucky ticket beat odds of 1 in 962,598.
“Double-check everything,” Belk said, “before you throw it away.”
Cash 5 is a statewide draw game that gives players the chance to win a jackpot every single night. Tickets cost $1 and players can buy tickets at most lottery retailers or through Online Play on the lottery’s website or the N.C. Lottery Official Mobile app.
Jackpots start at $100,000 and go up each day until they are won. Thursday’s Cash 5 jackpot is $100,000.
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