Retired teacher uses kids’ birthdays for North Carolina lottery ticket and wins big

A retired teacher won big when he played some especially lucky numbers in the North Carolina lottery: his children’s birthdays.

Louis Paine Jr., 77, won a $110,000 prize on Feb. 1 with a Cash 5 ticket he bought in his hometown of Fletcher, a news release from the North Carolina Education Lottery said.

“I was flabbergasted,” Paine said, according to the release. “Of course I didn’t believe it.”

Paine, who spent more than four decades as a teacher, said he appreciates raising money for local schools in North Carolina.

“Giving back to education is very important,” he said in the release. “It’s the greatest thing we have in our country.”

Paine claimed his prize on Feb. 8 and walked away with $78,122 after federal and state tax withholdings, the release said. He hopes to invest some of the money and distribute the rest of it to his family members.

Cash 5 tickets are $1 each, and drawings are held every night, the release said. The lottery has previously raised over $900 million a year for education in the state, according to the release.