Ohio woman wins big in NC lottery with ticket bought during Christmas vacation

An Ohio woman got ridiculously lucky when she came to North Carolina for the Christmas holidays, bought a lottery ticket at the store and won the jackpot.

It was a Carolina Cash 5 ticket, which has a jackpot that grows until someone matches the winning numbers.

“Chloe Mays of Cleveland, Ohio, took a chance on a $1 Cash 5 ticket on Friday and won a $295,802 jackpot,” the N.C. Education Lottery said in a Dec. 30 news release.

“Mays, in town visiting family for the holidays, bought her lucky Quick Pick ticket from Clayton Mart on East Main Street in Clayton.”

Odds of winning a top prize in Carolina Cash 5 are 1 in 962,598.

Odds of someone from Ohio winning while on vacation are pretty much astronomical.

Mays claimed her money Monday, Dec. 29, at lottery headquarters in Raleigh, and the cash came to $212,238 after federal and state taxes, lottery officials said.

She didn’t say how she intends to spend the money.

Cash 5 is a nightly drawing and players pick five numbers from 1 to 43, or let a terminal pick for them.

Clayton is about an 18-mile drive southeast from downtown Raleigh.

This story was originally published December 31, 2025 at 11:45 AM with the headline "Ohio woman wins big in NC lottery with ticket bought during Christmas vacation."