RALEIGH - James Dixon of Havelock was too excited to sleep this past weekend after realizing that his ticket for the April 9 “Carolina Cash 5” drawing was the top prize winner. His ticket, purchased at the A & E Stop N Shop on U.S. Highway 17 North in Vanceboro, matched all five numbers drawn to win $296,685!

Dixon checked his numbers the day after the drawing at a local lottery retailer. He says when he saw that all five numbers matched he thought to himself, “I’m not believing this is right,” so he asked the cashier to scan the ticket. That’s when he knew for sure he’d be traveling to Raleigh this week to claim his big prize.

Dixon says he will use the money to pay tithes to his church and pay off his mortgage. He then added that he’d let his wife decide what to do with the rest of the money.

In Powerball news, two tickets in the Saturday, April 11 Powerball drawing matched four out of five white balls plus the Powerball and are worth $10,000 each. These tickets were sold at the Jonestown Road Family Fare on Jonestown Road in Winston-Salem and at the Time Saver Food Store on Washington Street in Whiteville.

A total of 37,953 North Carolina Powerball players won prizes in the Saturday, April 11 Powerball drawing, ranging from $10,000 down to $3 for a total payout in prizes worth $347,924. No one matched all five white balls plus the Powerball to win the jackpot, so the jackpot is $25 million for the Wednesday, April 15 drawing.

The North Carolina Education Lottery (NCEL) has paid out more than $10.3 million total in instant scratch-off ticket prizes since Monday, April 6. Also since Monday, “Carolina Cash 5” players have won more than $579,000 and “Carolina Pick 3” players have won more than $2.2 million in prizes.