Lottery Player Decides to Buy a Ticket Out of the Blue, Wins $161K

There are different signs of good fortune. While some lottery players consider fortune cookie predictions, others may simply decide to try their luck and win. This is precisely the case of one Greensboro, North Carolina resident who recently purchased a Cash 5 ticket from the North Carolina Education Lottery.

What’s surprising about this case is that the lucky winner was sure that he would win the game’s jackpot. Cameron Vick, who has been a UPS driver for 37 years, was on his route at work when he told one customer that he was going win the Cash 5 jackpot. Later that same day, the fortunate player indeed won the grand prize from Cash 5 which was $160,756.

The Greensboro man, whose wish became reality, won the Cash 5 jackpot with a $1 ticket. He used the Lottery’s Online Play option to enter the August 20 drawing and win the grand prize at the time.

Vick visited the Lottery headquarters on Monday to collect his winnings. When asked what he plans to do with the hefty win, the lottery player said he would complete some home repairs. Lottery prizes in North Carolina are subject to both state and federal taxes. After the applicable withholdings, Vick collected a sum of nearly $115,000.

When asked about the day he was sure he would win the Cash 5 jackpot, the man admitted to telling one of the customers on his work route: “I’m going to win this one.” Although Vick was sure he’d win, he said: “It was just a spur-of-the-moment thing. I really just decided to play out of the blue.“

The Cash 5 Rolling Jackpot Starts at $100K

Players who purchase tickets for the Lottery’s Cash 5 have a chance of winning different prizes from $1 up to a progressive jackpot that starts at $100,000. The drawings for the popular game are every night of the week and players have to pick five numbers between 1 and 43.

The odds of winning the Cash 5 jackpot are 1 in 962,598. On the other hand, the chances of winning a second-tier prize of $250 are 1 in 5,066. The overall odds of winning a prize from the Lottery’s Cash 5 game are 1 in 10.5.

Recently, a fortunate player turned a misfortune into a $380,000 win. The Matthews resident, who had car trouble, decided to buy a ticket for the Lottery’s digital instant game, Bison Bonanza. Purchasing the ticket ahead of leaving his car at a repair shop, the man was shocked to realize that he won the game’s grand prize, a whopping $379,747 jackpot.