Gregory Warren, a mechanic in Franklinville, picked up a Cash 5 lottery ticket for the September 29 drawing while filling gas one day after work.
He didn’t check the ticket until Monday, October 4. That’s when Warren realized he won half of a $391,870 jackpot.
“I forgot about it,” Warren said on Tuesday while collecting his prize at North Carolina Education Lottery headquarters in Raleigh. “I’m still kind of shocked. I didn’t get a whole lot of sleep last night. Too much excitement!”
After federal and state tax withholdings, he walked away with a cool $138,624.
“I think I’m going into business for myself mowing yards,” Warren said. “I’ve got a 14-year-old son and I wanna get a business started so that he’ll have something to do when he graduates from high school.”
The other half of the jackpot went to a woman in New Bern.
The odds of Warren winning a Cash 5 jackpot? Lottery officials said it’s 1 in 962,598.