Lottery player shares complex strategy that helped her win big prize in North Carolina

A grandmother of four just won life-changing money in the North Carolina Education Lottery, and she is not being shy about sharing her rather-exhausting strategy.

The Cash 5 ticket purchased by Patsy Avery of Midland beat odds of 1-in-962,598 when it matched all five white balls in the game.

And luckily it happened after the rolling jackpot had gone from $100,000 to $332,952, lottery officials said in a Jan. 21 news release.

“I don’t dream very often, but I had a dream I would win the lottery,” Avery said in the release. “When I dream, it usually comes true.”

In this case, it happened with a complicated strategy that involved multiple lottery tickets purchased at multiple sites, she said.

“I pick a bunch of different stores and buy tickets at each one,” Avery said. “I probably stop at 10 different stores. ... I’ve been playing my same numbers for a long time.”

Each Cash 5 ticket cost $1, and the winning ticket was purchased at Jerry’s One Stop on N.C. 27 East in Iron Station, lottery officials said.

That’s about a 25-mile drive northwest from Charlotte and more than a 50-mile drive northwest of her home in Cabarrus County.

Avery picked up her money Tuesday, Jan. 21, at lottery headquarters and the prize came to $238,893 after federal and state withholdings, lottery officials said.

She says she doesn’t yet have a plan for spending it, so it will likely go into savings for the time being.

This story was originally published January 22, 2025 at 8:18 AM with the headline "Lottery player shares complex strategy that helped her win big prize in North Carolina."