Veteran wins NC lottery prize using numbers that represent significant life events
A North Carolina veteran won more than $268,000 while helping out his friend.
William Porter III, an Army veteran from Knightdale, took his friend who just got out of the hospital to Poor Boy General Store & Grill in Knightdale to pick up a few things, according to the North Carolina Education Lottery.
While there, Porter bought himself a lottery ticket, he told lottery officials
“He’s still moving pretty slow,” Porter told lottery officials. “While I was waiting, I decided to get a Cash 5 ticket.”
Each of the numbers Porter used to play were ages he was when “something significant” happened in his life, according to the lottery.
One of those numbers was 27, according to the lottery.
“That’s how old I was when the Beirut barracks bombing happened back in 1983,” Porter, who served 12 years in the Army, told lottery officials. “I used to be a behavioral science officer and they called me in to help.”
Those numbers won him a $268,150 Cash 5 jackpot prize, according to the lottery.
And Porter’s wife Hettie told lottery officials the win “came at the right time.”
“We were supposed to sign the papers to refinance our mortgage today,” she told lottery officials. “And now we don’t have to. This is such a blessing.”
Porter took home $189,716 after taxes, according to the lottery.
“Ha! This is what I’m talking about,” Porter told lottery officials when he got the check. “I’m in overjoy!”
He says he’ll use some of the money to finish his “man cave” and pay down his mortgage, according to the lottery.
This story was originally published December 8, 2019 at 4:18 PM with the headline "Veteran wins NC lottery prize using numbers that represent significant life events."
