GREENSBORO, N.C. — Most of the time, when you get an email saying you've won thousands of dollars, it's too good to be true.
That was not the case for Greensboro woman Rashanta Cunningham, who woke up last week to an email that said she was a Cash 5 jackpot winner.
Cash 5 is a statewide draw game that gives players the chance to win a jackpot every single night. Tickets cost $1 and players can buy tickets at most lottery retailers, through Online Play on the lottery’s website, or on the NC Lottery Official Mobile app.
Cunningham bought a ticket online the night of the drawing and find out about her win online as soon as the winning numbers were picked.
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Despite buying a ticket, Cunningham went to sleep without checking the drawing.
“I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t go back to sleep,” Cunningham said. “I remembered to check my email and it said I had won, but it didn’t say the amount. So, I thought they sent it by accident.”
She logged into her NC Education Lottery account and realized it was not an accident and she was in fact the winner.
"I don’t know, I was shocked. I couldn’t believe it. I just didn’t believe it. I just sat there and I looked at it and I went back to the email and checked my email again and then went back to it. Then, I got up and went to the other room and showed my son and he was like, 'What's this?' and I was like, 'Do you see this? Is this real?'" Cunningham said.
Cunningham won $387,726 in the jackpot. After taxes, she took home nearly $275,000.
She said she plans to keep working at Sodexo catering and she will put aside some of the money for her three grandchildren.