CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Talk about your lucky day. A Charlotte woman who went to bed thinking her lottery ticket was a dud woke up and realized she actually hit a six-figure jackpot.
Sylvia Spaulding signed in to her online North Carolina Education Lottery account expecting to see a measly $2 Cash 5 win. What she actually found took her breath away. She'd won a $445,289 jackpot.
"When the numbers first came out, I looked and thought, 'Wow, one person won all that money. Oh well," Spaulding said. "Then I went back to sleep.
"When I went back and double-checked my numbers, that's when I realized the winner was me. I was in shock."
When Spaulding got an email notification that she won, she assumed it was just a couple of bucks for the $1 Quick Pick ticket she bought for Monday's drawing. When she realized how much she really won, Spaulding ran to tell her husband.
"I told him, 'One person won the whole thing and I just found out it was me,'" she said.
Spaulding collected her prize at the lottery's headquarters Thursday. After taxes, she brought home $317,270. Spaulding said she plans to put the winnings in savings.
"I don't think it has hit me completely just yet," she said.
Cash 5 is one of six lottery games in North Carolina where players can buy tickets online. The odds of winning a Cash 5 jackpot are 1 in 962,598. The next drawing is Friday, June 2, for an estimated $137,000.
Playing the lottery is a form of gambling. If you are concerned about your gambling or worried about a friend, you can call the NC Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-877-718-5543. You can also contact the National Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.