He played his grandkids’ birthdates as lottery numbers — and won the NC jackpot
.jpg "The couple said they plan to use the jackpot win to visit their grandchildren. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)")
Christopher Bowman and his wife couldn’t help but laugh when they realized they won the North Carolina jackpot.
Bowman had played the birthdates of his grandchildren in the Feb. 6 Cash 5 drawing, he told lottery officials.
“We were just laughing because we could not believe it,” the 67-year-old told officials. “We’re still pinching ourselves to make sure it is real.”
Bowman bought his $1 ticket at the Food Lion on Six Forks Road in Raleigh. He played his grandkids’ birthdates and when he checked on Monday, he discovered that it had won him $212,415.
After finding out, Bowman told officials he urged his wife to take a look at the winning tickets.
“Would you mind winning $200,000?” he asked her, joking. His wife, Cindy Bowman, said she was shocked.
The couple live in Raleigh and work as traveling artists to display American Indian culture, according to lottery officials. Art show traffic had died down due to COVID-19, which made the jackpot win even more appreciated, they told officials.
After federal and state tax withholding, the couple took home $150,836. They plan to use it for investing, paying bills and seeing family.
“Now we can go visit our grandkids,” Cindy Bowman told officials. “They are scattered all around the country.”
According to the North Education Lottery, the odds of winning a Cash 5 Jackpot are 1 in 962,598.
