Australian man celebrates $186,338 jackpot win

March 14, 2025 Posted by NC Lottery at 9:29 AM

Gregory Coombes of Grafton NSW, Australia took a chance on a $1 Cash 5 ticket while visiting North Carolina and won a $186,338 jackpot.

Coombes bought his lucky Quick Pick ticket from Quick Pantry on West Mills Street in Columbus. His ticket matched all five numbers in the Feb. 14 drawing to win the jackpot. The odds of matching numbers on all five balls are 1 in 962,598.

He claimed his winnings Thursday at lottery headquarters and, after required federal and state tax withholdings, took home $122,517.

Cash 5 is one of six lottery games in North Carolina where players have the option of buying their tickets at a retail location or with Online Play through the lottery’s website or the NC Lottery Official Mobile App. Friday’s jackpot is $110,000.

The N.C. Education Lottery’s Play Smart™ program helps North Carolinians make the most of their lottery play. Visit ncplaysmart.com to learn about all things lottery, from tips on how odds work to how to enter bonus drawings. If you or someone you know needs support, visit morethanagame.nc.gov/ for free, confidential help.

10 COMMENTS

3/17/2025 09:13 - joanie m.

My favorite cash 5 Congratulations

3/17/2025 07:41 - Berry B.

WTG

3/17/2025 07:00 - John D.

I see no winners down your way Rosemary it's the same exact way here in Eastern North Carolina only ones winning is the lottery I'm about 40 minutes from Virginia their lottery 3 nothing like ours just keep your eyes open and you will see no big winners on this side of the state

3/17/2025 03:51 - Rosemary B.

Well....NCL....I see you did not post my comment. Fix the points...I've called the NCL and was told yo "delete my cookies"...@??....the updates on the NCL website just messed everything up.

3/16/2025 08:08 - John D.

I haven't seen no Big winners in Eastern North Carolina in a while I'm in tune with your blog everyday and I haven't seen the winners you're talking about. And I know it takes a lot of luck only thing about it there's no luck in Eastern North Carolina point blankNC Lottery
Hi, John! If you visit our News Blog Archive page, you can see several wins from Eastern North Carolina in the past couple of weeks: https://nclottery.com/NewsBlogList, including a $100,000 Powerball winner: https://bit.ly/3DHnsPm, a $100,000 second chance winner: https://bit.ly/4hl9GzF, a $1 million Lucky Loteria winner: https://bit.ly/4ibO5uR, a $150,000 Xtreme Cashword winner: https://bit.ly/4iqnB8w, and more.

3/16/2025 05:05 - Rosemary B.

Oh for crying out loud, FIX your website! I called and spoke to one of your employees last week who suggested I "delete my cookies"...WHY didn't you folks just leave the website as it was? I enter my points on the rewards screen and it doesn't even register but it sure took my points! Just fix it. You want folks to support NCL, then make your website "user friendly" and STOP making unnecessary changes! I live close enough to SC I may just fully support that state lottery. I agree with some of these posts...NCL is not "sharing" the winnings...send some to southeastern NC...ok!NC Lottery
We're sorry about that, Rosemary! Our team is looking into the issues affecting Lucke-Rewards and working to get these resolved as soon as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience.

3/16/2025 07:00 - Steven B.

good on ya,mate!

3/15/2025 10:27 - John D.

Congratulations to the highest my brother. But there are still no winners in Eastern North Carolina I do understand all the winners are In RALEIGH AND BACK TOWARDS THE MOUNTAINS AND CHARLOTTENC Lottery
Hi, John! We see big winners all across our state. If you tune in to our blog or social media pages, you'll see us share about wins from big cities, small towns, east, and west. No matter where you play, your odds of winning are the same - it just takes a lot of luck!

3/14/2025 08:23 - Thorne B.

Congrats to the Aussie! No end in sight for repair of the Tix enter process: Time to call in outside help.Date of first report of problem was 2/28/25.the system was hacked during what should have been rountine maint.. how about it,Van?

3/14/2025 12:13 - Anthony B.

Wow! Congratulations ??

Get the Mobile App

No Longer Just a Game? There's Help

Call 877-718-5543 Text "morethanagamenc" to 53342 Chat morethanagamenc.com

MUST BE 18 TO PLAY. Odds to win a prize and the top prize vary based on the game or promotion. See game or promotion pages for more detail.

Every effort has been made to ensure that the winning numbers posted on this website are accurate; however, no valid claim may be based on information contained herein. In the event of a discrepancy between the numbers posted on this website and the official winning numbers, the official winning numbers as certified by the Multi-State Lottery Association and/or the NCEL shall control. All materials on this Website are owned by or licensed to the NCEL. Materials on this Website may not be modified in any way or reproduced or publicly displayed, performed or distributed or otherwise used for any public or commercial purpose without the express written consent of the NCEL. Copyright © 2006-2025. The North Carolina Education Lottery. All rights reserved. Play Smart™ term is a service mark of the Illinois Lottery licensed to the NCEL.

Win up to $1,000,000 every 4 minutes

Big Thrills Served Fast.

Progressive Jackpot Estimate

Australian man celebrates $186,338 jackpot win

March 14, 2025 Posted by NC Lottery at 9:29 AM

Helpful Links

Get the Mobile App

No Longer Just a Game? There's Help