When Kim Cantu of Greenville first learned that he won some money playing Cash 5, he had no idea that he just won a $504,104 jackpot.
“The clerk just told me he couldn’t cash the ticket in the store because it was too large to pay out,” Cantu recalled. “I thought it was maybe $500.”
After leaving the store, Cantu went home and checked his numbers online.
“I was actually shocked when I saw the amount,” he said.
He immediately ran to tell his wife the good news.
“We were both so excited,” Cantu said. “We were going around the house doing high-fives.”
Cantu, a 65-year-old former store manager, bought his lucky $1 Cash 5 ticket for the Feb. 15 drawing from the Speedway on Charles Boulevard in Greenville.
“We had a great weekend thinking about the win and all the possibilities of it,” he said.
Cantu arrived at lottery headquarters Monday to collect his prize and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $359,183.
He said he will use the winnings to do remodel his home and put some in savings for retirement.
Cash 5 is one of six lottery games in North Carolina where players have the option of buying their tickets through a retail location or Online Play, either through the lottery’s website or with the NC Lottery Official Mobile App. The odds of winning a Cash 5 jackpot are 1 in 962,598. Tuesday’s jackpot is $120,000.
The N.C. Education Lottery’s Play Smart™ program educates and empowers North Carolinians to make smart decisions when they play the lottery. March is Problem Gambling Awareness Month and the lottery highlights Play Smart to help ensure when North Carolinians play the lottery it doesn’t become more than a game. Visit nclottery.com/PlaySmart to learn how the Play Smart program helps someone create a game plan to keep lottery play fun. If you or someone you know needs support, visit morethanagame.nc.gov/ for free, confidential help.
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