Lottery player thought his NC win was ‘maybe $500’ — but real prize left him ‘shocked’
Kim Cantu was recently at a Speedway in Greenville, North Carolina, when he decided to buy a $1 Cash 5 ticket.
But when Cantu, 65, went to cash in his prize, the store clerk couldn’t pay out his winnings, according to a March 7 news release from the North Carolina Education Lottery.
“The clerk just told me he couldn’t cash the ticket in the store because it was too large to pay out,” Cantu told officials. “I thought it was maybe $500.”
When he got home, Cantu double-checked his numbers online. That’s when he realized his prize was a lot more than just $500.
Cantu won a $504,104 jackpot after beating the 1-in-962,598 odds, officials said.
“I was actually shocked when I saw the amount,” he said.
After telling his wife, Cantu said they couldn’t stop high-fiving each other with excitement.
“We were going around the house doing high-fives,” Cantu told officials. “We had a great weekend thinking about the win and all the possibilities of it.”
After taxes, Cantu took home $359,183, which he plans to use to remodel his house and save for retirement, he told officials.
Greenville is about 80 miles east of Raleigh.
