When Frank Reams II returned to Carteret County last summer from a retirement stay in Mexico, he told a friend he left behind that he would win the lottery so he could help her and her five rescue dogs get back home to Canada. His prediction just came true

On Monday, Reams claimed a $747,018 Carolina Cash 5 jackpot. He said the first person he told was his friend in Mexico who was “flabbergasted” to get the news.

Reams said he began his plan to win a jackpot in August, buying $1 tickets online a month at a time through the lottery’s website. He said he used special numbers from his birthday, his late wife’s birthday, and a fifth number chosen randomly. On April 4th, those five numbers, 1-4-10-21-36, finally matched the winning numbers in a Cash 5 drawing.

“I knew one day they were going to win,” Reams said. “It was just a matter of what day.”

Reams said the friendship developed from a mutual interest in giving homes to rescue dogs and supporting organizations that foster or rescue dogs. As she saved money to return home too, Reams said he told her, “Don’t worry about it. I’ll get you back to Canada.”

After federal and state withholdings, Reams took home $528,516. He said in addition to helping his friend he plans to find a larger apartment with a yard for his rescue dachshund to play in and make a donation to his church.

“If you can, adopt a dog,” Reams said. “If not, then foster a dog. And if you can’t foster, then donate to a rescue group. These people do amazing work.”

His ticket beat odds of one in 962,598 to win the jackpot. Cash 5 is a statewide draw game that gives players the chance to win a jackpot every single night. The jackpot for tonight’s drawing is $120,000.

Ticket sales from draw games like Cash 5 make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $650 million a year for education. For details on how $3.6 million in lottery funds made a difference in Carteret County last year, click on the “Impact” section of the lottery’s website. https://www.nclottery.com.