News writer
Do dreams come true? They may have for one lucky North Carolina Lottery winner recently!
A Cash 5 jackpot win
David Atwell, a Kannapolis resident, won the $837,187 Cash 5 jackpot during the April 27 drawing. As it turns out, Atwell told Lottery officials that his sister had a dream that may have foreshadowed his big lottery win. Atwell recalled:
In her dream I found a bunch of gold. I guess dreams do come true.
It seems like his dreams have come true a lot; as he said, he always seems to have luck on his side. He joked with Lottery officials:
My family always said I was the luckiest one in the family.
The winning ticket
Atwell bought his winning $1 ticket from Jiffy Quick, located at 800 Sloop Avenue in Kannapolis. The winning numbers for the April 27 drawing were 11, 20, 21, 26, and 28.
He matched all five numbers to win the jackpot. The odds of matching all five white ball numbers in Cash 5 are 1 in 962,598.
Atwell told Lottery officials:
I was stunned. At first I saw the jackpot went back down to $100,000 so I knew someone hit it. I had no idea it was me.
It seems like Atwell got a little excited when he finally figured out he was the person who won the jackpot, even scaring their pet!
Atwell's wife Cherie said:
He was hollering so much it scared the cat.
His big plans now
Atwell recently headed to the lottery headquarters in Raleigh and claimed his big prize. After the required federal and state tax withholdings, he took home $598,591.
Now that he has the money in hand, Atwell said he plans on giving some of the money to his church and paying off some of his bills.
Scotland County man wins big on scratcher
When your gut tells you to do something, you should listen. That is what a Scotland County man did, and it ended with him winning $2 million on the $20 Big Cash Payout ticket.
Donnie Leviner, 18, told Lottery officials:
Something just told me to buy it.
The teen said he only bought a few lottery tickets before the $2 million win. He bought this winning ticket at Sneads Grove Convenience, located at 20501 Sneads Grove Road in Laurel Hill.
Leviner initially just went to the store to fill up his lawn mower, but something told him to buy that scratcher, and it paid off.
He headed to the North Carolina Lottery headquarters recently and collected his prize, for which he chose to get the lump sum option of $1.2 million. After the required state and federal withholdings, he took home $858,006.
Leviner hasn't decided what he will be doing with his winnings, but he did say he wanted to “spend it wisely.”
Big Cash Payout debuted in July 2023 and had four $2 million top prizes available. After Leviner claimed his top prize, the North Carolina Lottery said there were still two $2 million prizes remaining.
Enjoy playing the North Carolina Lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.
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