NC man thought $1 lottery ticket was no good, nearly trashed it. He won a jackpot.
A North Carolina man thought his $1 Cash 5 lottery ticket was no good and nearly tossed it in the trash, N.C. lottery officials said Friday.
But he thought twice about it and decided to ask the clerk at the convenience store where he bought the ticket to scan it again, according to a lottery news release. He’s glad he did.
“‘I think you won the big one,’” John Cornwell of Waco in Cleveland County said the clerk told him.
His ticket hit a $277,086 jackpot, officials said.
“I waited until I got home and screamed out loud to my wife that I won,” Cornwell said when he claimed his prize at lottery headquarters in Raleigh on Thursday.
His wife didn’t believe his win was real, he said.
“She thought I made it up,” Cornwell said. “I told her, ‘Baby, it’s legit.’ She still can’t believe it.”
Cornwell bought the winning ticket at Waco Stop & Shop on Cherryville Road in Waco.
He beat odds of 1 in 962,598, according to NCLottery.com.
“I checked the ticket, and there was a message about going to the lottery office,” Cornwell said. “I almost threw it away. I thought it was just a bad ticket.”
The 70-year-old machine designer bought the ticket for the Dec. 30 Cash 5 drawing.
After taxes, he netted $196,759, lottery officials said.
With his lottery win, Cornwell intends to pay off a new car he bought for his wife and take her on a vacation, according to the lottery.
Cash 5 is one of four NC lottery games where players can buy their tickets through Online Play, on the lottery website or the lottery app. Cash 5 drawings are held nightly.
This story was originally published January 8, 2022 at 9:13 AM.