Man buys NC lottery ticket and refuses to sleep until the drawing. His plan worked

Lottery players are known for relying on odd tricks to improve their chances, but a North Carolina man may have stumbled on something new when he refused to sleep until the winning numbers were drawn.

Jarvis Anderson of Fayetteville spent $1 on a Carolina Cash 5 Quick Pick ticket, then “stayed up that night to watch the drawing,” according to a news release from the N.C. Education Lottery.

When the numbers were finally announced, a “half-asleep” Anderson realized he had matched all five for the jackpot. The prize was $389,869, lottery officials said.

“I let out a good yell,” Anderson said in the release. “Then my son came in to see what happened. ... I had to pinch myself.”

Odds of matching the five numbers were 1 in 962,598, officials said.

He picked up his cash at the lottery’s Raleigh headquarters and it came to $278,757 after state and local taxes were subtracted.

Anderson intends to use the money “to help his children and grandchildren,” officials said.

His ticket was for the Oct. 25 drawing. He bought it at the Harris Teeter on Raeford Road in Fayetteville, about a 60-mile drive southwest from Raleigh.

Carolina Cash 5 has a rolling jackpot that grows until someone wins. Drawings are held at 11:22 p.m. each night, officials say.

This story was originally published November 5, 2024 at 4:24 AM with the headline "Man buys NC lottery ticket and refuses to sleep until the drawing. His plan worked."