Winning ticket is worth $550,000
By Steve Herring
Published in News on June 8, 2012 1:46 PM
Someone who bought a lottery ticket in Wayne County is $548,583 richer.
A Carolina Cash 5 lottery ticket sold at the Kangaroo Express on Buck Swamp Road earlier this week hit the jackpot. The ticket was the only one to match all five numbers in the Wednesday drawing. The winning numbers were: 8-14-15-29-34.
"That is a nice win," said Ven Denton, director of corporate communications for the N.C. Education Lottery. "The winner has not come up here so far today (Thursday), but I would not be surprised to see them before 5 p.m. They have 180 days to collect their prizes."
Taxes are withheld based on the same formula as for regular taxes -- 25 percent federal and 7 percent state, Denton said. The final amount depends on the individual's financial situation, he said. The winner could have to pay more or could receive a refund.
In this case, the winner will collect approximately $373,036.
If it turns out the winner lives in Wayne County, the $548,583 jackpot would be more than double the current record Cash 5 prize awarded to a resident here. To date, nine Wayne County players have claimed shares of Cash 5 jackpots ranging from $13,063 to $263,498, Denton said.
Lottery officials caution winners to sign their tickets immediately to establish ownership.
Most state lotteries, including North Carolina, require that certain information be made public, Denton said.
The information includes the person's name; the name of the town or city where they live; the game played, in this case Carolina Cash 5; where the ticket was purchased; and the amount won.
As a motivation to be "good lottery sellers," retailers are offered incentives for selling winning PowerBall, Mega Millions, Carolina Cash 5 and scratch-off tickets that win more than $1 million, Denton said.
Kangaroo Express is eligible for a $9,000 incentive as long as it is in good standing with the state, Denton said. It is up to the owner to decide how the money is distributed, he said.
"The more they sell, the more raised for education," Denton said.
Since the lottery began through June 30 of last year, Wayne County education programs received more than $29.6 million in lottery funds. By law, those funds pay for teacher's salaries in grades K-3, school construction, pre-kindergarten programs for at-risk 4-year-olds, and need-based college scholarships and financial aid.
To date, the N.C. Education Lottery has raised more than $2.35 billion for these initiatives statewide.