RALEIGH - This is no April Fools’ joke! The clock is ticking and about to expire on an unclaimed “Carolina Cash 5” ticket worth $411,988 that was purchased in Wake County!

The ticket, which was purchased for the Oct. 11, 2008 drawing, will expire if not claimed at North Carolina Education Lottery (NCEL) headquarters by 5 p.m. on April 9, 2009. This is one of two winning tickets for this drawing. The other prize was claimed on Oct. 13 by Dennis and Kimberly Bowen of Creedmoor.

Both tickets matched the five white balls on Oct. 11. The one ticket that remains unclaimed was purchased at Circle K #6139, 1101 Walnut St., Cary. The five white balls for that drawing were:

3 - 5 - 12 - 18 - 37

If not claimed, the Lottery Act designates that half of the unclaimed prize will be distributed to the Education Lottery Fund while the other half will go back into prizes for future games.