Judy Shaw of Wilmington said she plans to use a $225,612 Cash 5 jackpot to reach her dream of paying off her home equity loan.

“It’s wonderful. It will make such a difference,” Shaw said. “It will be nice not to have to worry.”

The insurance agent beat odds of one in 749,398 to win Saturday’s drawing.

She bought the $1 Quick Pick ticket when she stopped by the Han-Dee Hugo’s on Carolina Beach Road in Wilmington. She checked the numbers on her phone Sunday morning.

“I was in my office at home, and I saw the three numbers on my phone,” Shaw said.
“I didn’t think anything of it because I’ve matched three numbers before, but then I saw the last two. I jumped out my chair and ran down the hallway and woke my husband up. I said, ‘Wake up! Wake up! Get your glasses, I think we just won the lottery!’”

Shaw claimed the prize Tuesday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required state and federal tax withholdings, she took home $156,803.

Ticket sales from draw games like Cash 5 make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $600 million dollars a year for education. For details on how lottery funds have made a difference in all of North Carolina’s 100 counties click on the “Impact” section of the lottery’s website.