$1 lottery ticket turns into 7-figure jackpot for North Carolina man. ‘I’m numb’

A ruckus heard around midnight at a man’s home in Gastonia, North Carolina, was his over-the-top reaction at learning a $1 lottery ticket had beaten odds of 1 in 962,598.

Ray Walker says he discovered he won $1,022,795 in the Cash Five drawing just after 12 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 22, according to the N.C. Education Lottery.

“I hollered and jumped up and down. I let out a big old yell,” Walker was quoted saying in a news release. “This couldn’t have come at a better time.”

The ticket was purchased at Kingsway convenience store on East Ozark Avenue in Gastonia, and it was a Quick Pick, which means the numbers were chosen at random by the lottery terminal. The winning numbers were 2, 16, 17, 19, 31.

Walker picked up his prize at lottery headquarters in Raleigh the same day, and it came to $733,856 after required state and federal withholdings, officials said.

“I only slept an hour last night. I’m numb,” he told lottery officials.

Walker intends to put most of the money in the bank, but some will finance a trip to Florida to visit relatives, he said .

Cash Five has “a rolling jackpot” that starts at $100,000 and grows until someone wins. Players pick five numbers from 1 to 43 or let the terminal choose for them. Jackpot winner have to match all five white balls in any order.

This story was originally published October 23, 2025 at 3:40 PM with the headline "$1 lottery ticket turns into 7-figure jackpot for North Carolina man. ‘I’m numb’."