Mysterious email had NC man’s heart ‘pounding.’ It was about top lottery prize he won
Darron Jones of Raleigh woke up early Saturday to a mysterious email telling him he had a “claim waiting.”
I was like, ‘Claim?’” he said to North Carolina Education Lottery officials. “My heart started pounding, like, ‘Wait a minute — is this what I think it is?’”
So Jones checked his lottery app and told lottery officials he was “in shock” when he saw he won $110,000 on a $1 Quick Pick ticket in Friday’s Carolina Cash 5 drawing.
“My heart was beating like a thousand miles an hour,” he said, according to a lottery news release.
Jones claimed his prize Tuesday and took home $77,825 after taxes.
He told lottery officials he plans to save some of the money for his children’s future.
“Outside of that, we’ll try and do something nice for ourselves,” he said, according to the lottery. “A vacation at some point.”
Thursday’s Carolina Cash 5 drawing is worth $342,000.
“The odds of winning a Cash 5 jackpot are 1 in 962,598,” the lottery release says.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREWhen gambling is more than a game
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.
