Veteran among three winners splitting NC lottery jackpot. Here’s what he’ll do with it

A military veteran is closer to retirement after winning a third of a more than $1 million North Carolina Education Lottery jackpot.

Anthony Whigham, a former Air Force mechanic who lives in High Point, is one of three people to buy a Cash 5 ticket worth $335,720.

“I’m just proud that I was one of them,” Whigham told lottery officials. “I was really shocked to know that I had won.”

Whigham bought some Carolina Cash 5 tickets at $1 each from the Fuel + on Regency Drive in High Point, and scratched them off in a church parking lot after the drawing.

“I scanned my ticket and it notified me that I needed to go to the lottery commission to turn in my ticket to claim my winnings,” he told officials. “I had to get my stomach out of my throat.”

He picked up his winnings from lottery headquarters in Raleigh, and took home $237,522 after taxes.

“I’m semi-retired,” he said. After 25 years in the Air Force, he became a locksmith.

“[The money’s] gonna pay off most of my bills so I’ll be closer to a retirement that I can enjoy.”

The odds of winning a Cash 5 jackpot are 1-in-962,598, according to lottery officials.

This story was originally published November 9, 2020 at 6:13 PM with the headline "Veteran among three winners splitting NC lottery jackpot. Here’s what he’ll do with it."