Karen Horton of Salisbury has claimed her $477,275 share of Monday’s Carolina Cash 5 jackpot. Her $1 ticket was one of two to match all five numbers, winning half of the $954,550 jackpot.
Horton discovered her good luck late Tuesday morning when she compared the numbers on her Quick Pick ticket with the winning numbers on the lottery’s website.
“It’s wonderful,” she said. “It’s like a dream and I haven’t woken up yet.”
Karen and her husband, Don, lived in upstate New York until last fall. That’s when Karen retired from a 25-year career as a corrections officer. Don spent 37 years in the automotive manufacturing industry. They have two daughters and one granddaughter.
With their after-tax winnings of $324,547, the Hortons said they planned to pay off all their bills, share some with their family and enjoy retirement.
“We’re really happy the pot was split two ways, so that someone else could have this experience, too,” Don added.
The other person to win $477,275 in the drawing is Becky Richardson, a 20 year-old from Hollister in Halifax County. She purchased her winning ticket at the New Dixie Mart on Dortches Boulevard in Rocky Mount.
Through June 30, 2012, Rowan County had gotten $32.5 million from the N.C. Education Lottery, a press release said.