RALEIGH - Before Joe Cline of Valdese left to go to the North Carolina Education Lottery (NCEL) headquarters this morning, he told his family he’d be coming back with a giant check like the ones in the winner photos on the NCEL Web site. Cline’s Sept. 6 “Carolina Cash 5” ticket matched all five white balls to win the top prize of $149,571!
Cline says the day after the drawing a coworker told him that someone in Valdese had won the top prize, but that he didn’t think to check his ticket until a few hours later. When he saw that his ticket matched all five white balls drawn, he says he was shocked.
Cline bought his winning ticket at the East-West Store on U.S. 70 West in Valdese. He said he will put his winnings in the bank for right now.
The number five is now Sheila Jessup of Raleigh’s lucky number. At five minutes until 5 p.m. on Monday afternoon, Jessup used a nickel she’d found at the Food Lion on Rocky Quarry Road in Raleigh to scratch off the “Fabulous 5’s” instant game she had bought there earlier that day. The ticket revealed itself to be the top prize winner of $100,000!
Jessup says she called her sister when she realized she’d won. Her sister came over and she says they jumped up and down in the living room, screaming for joy. Jessup plans to use the money to buy the home of her mother from her mother’s estate.
In last night’s Powerball drawing, one ticket matched all five white balls and is worth $200,000! This ticket was sold at Kmart #3442 on Capital Boulevard in Raleigh. It has yet to be claimed.
A total of 52,845 North Carolina Powerball players won prizes in Wednesday’s drawing, ranging from $200,000 down to $3 for a total payout in prizes worth $506,139. No one matched all five white balls plus the Powerball to win the jackpot, so the jackpot for the Saturday, Sept. 13, Powerball drawing is an estimated $118 million.
The NCEL has paid out more than $4.4 million total in instant scratch-off ticket prizes since Monday, Sept. 8. Also since Monday, “Carolina Cash 5” players have won more than $76,000 and “Carolina Pick 3” players have won more than $570,000 in prizes.
