Rowan County man finds lost Cash 5 ticket, claims $559,582 jackpot

Published 1:27 pm Friday, January 4, 2019

RALEIGH – Presley Sanders of Salisbury said he drove around for three days with a Cash 5 lottery ticket worth over a half million dollars and didn’t realize it.

Sanders bought the ticket for the Dec. 8 drawing at the Food Lion where he works on Statesville Boulevard in Salisbury.

“I usually always pick my own numbers,” Sanders said.

Instead, this time he bought five Quick Pick tickets.

The next morning while getting coffee, he found out that someone from Salisbury had won the $559,582 jackpot.

“I thought, ‘Well, that could be me,’ but I had misplaced my tickets,” Sanders said. “I found them three days later just sitting in my truck on the floorboard.”

When he checked the fifth ticket, he saw that its five numbers matched the winning numbers.

“It’s hard to believe I actually won,” Sanders said. “I’ve come close before, but this time I finally did.”

Sanders beat odds of 1 in 962,598 to win the jackpot. He claimed his jackpot Thursday.

After state and federal tax withholdings, he took home $395,771.

Sanders said he plans to use some of the money to help his children and grandchildren. He’ll put the rest in savings.

Cash 5 is a statewide draw game that gives players the chance to win a jackpot nightly. Tickets cost $1, and players can buy tickets at most lottery retailers or through Online Play on the lottery website.