Orange County woman uses unique strategy to win $212,371 jackpot

Dorothy Chester of Cedar Grove decided to try a new approach playing Cash 5 and it paid off with a $212,371 jackpot.

“I picked my numbers by just closing my eyes and pointing at them,” she laughed. “It was my first time trying that.”

Chester bought her lucky $1 ticket for the April 7 drawing using Online Play. The odds of matching all five balls playing Cash 5 are 1 in 962,598.

“I just started stuttering,” Chester said recalling her winning moment. “Then I went on the porch and I was screaming and shouting.”

Chester shared that she always had a feeling she would win a big jackpot.

“I always told myself, ‘I’m going to win Cash 5 one day,” Chester said.

She claimed her prize Tuesday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required federal and state tax withholdings, Chester took home $152,929.

“It still seems surreal,” she said.

Chester plans to use her winnings to pay bills.

Cash 5 is one of six lottery games in North Carolina where players have the option of buying tickets at a retail location or with Online Play through the lottery’s website or the NC Lottery Official Mobile App. Wednesday’s jackpot is $110,000.