Cabarrus County man wins $837,187 jackpot: ‘Dreams do come true’
RALEIGH – Kannapolis resident David Atwell said a dream his sister had foreshadowed his $837,187 Cash 5 jackpot win Saturday night.
“In her dream I found a bunch of gold,” he recalled. “I guess dreams do come true.”
Atwell said he has always had luck on his side.
“My family always said I was the luckiest one in the family,” he laughed.
Atwell bought his lucky $1 ticket from Jiffy Quik on Sloop Avenue in Kannapolis. He matched all five numbers to win the jackpot. The odds of matching numbers on all five white balls are 1 in 962,598.
“I was stunned,” he said. “At first I saw the jackpot went back down to $100,000 so I knew someone hit it. I had no idea it was me.”
Atwell could barely control his emotions when he found out he won the jackpot.
“He was hollering so much it scared the cat,” Atwell’s wife Cherie said.
He claimed his prize at lottery headquarters Monday in Raleigh and, after required federal and state tax withholdings, took home $598,591.
Atwell said he plans to give some money to his church and pay some bills.
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 with the NC Lottery Official Mobile App. Tuesday’s jackpot is $120,000.
For details on how $15.7 million raised by the lottery made a difference in Cabarrus County last year, visit www.nclottery.com and click on the “Impact” section.
