Lottery player double-checks NC ticket — and realizes numbers look ‘mighty familiar’
A North Carolina man didn’t realize he won a jackpot lottery prize — until he took a closer look at his ticket.
Derrick Lawrence of Knightdale and his wife stopped at Oak Park Mart on Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh on their way to dinner on Nov. 4 and bought Quick Pick lottery tickets for the drawing later that night, according to a news release from the North Carolina Education Lottery.
“I didn’t really look at the ticket until this afternoon,” Lawrence told lottery officials the next day. “I saw the numbers this morning but I didn’t pay it no mind. And then I looked at the ticket again and thought, ‘Boy, those numbers look mighty familiar! Man, I gotta go downtown!’”
Lawrence realized one of his tickets matched all five numbers drawn and was worth $813,336, the lottery said.
“I’m still trying to absorb all of this,” he said, according to lottery officials. “It’s truly a blessing!”
Lawrence claimed his prize Nov. 5 and took home $575,437 after taxes. He works at a pharmaceutical company and told lottery officials he has about seven years until he retires.
“What a win!” he said, according to the lottery. “My wife and I are just going to put the money towards retirement.”
Drawings are held every night for Cash 5 tickets.
“Monday’s jackpot is $132,000,” the lottery said. “The odds of winning a Cash 5 jackpot are 1 in 962,598.”
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Gambling is designed to be a source of entertainment.
If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website.
This story was originally published November 8, 2021 at 3:17 PM with the headline "Lottery player double-checks NC ticket — and realizes numbers look ‘mighty familiar’."
