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‘You might win.’ NC woman hits jackpot on $1 lottery ticket husband convinced her to buy

A Concord woman hit a lottery jackpot on a $1 ticket in a game she almost didn’t play, N.C. lottery officials said.

Phyllis Davis hesitated about trying the Cash 5 game for the first time, but went ahead and did so at her husband’s urging, she told lottery officials when she claimed her nearly half-million-dollar prize at lottery headquarters in Raleigh on Friday.

“It was just a whim,” Davis said, according to a lottery news release. “I wanted to do it before, but I backed out.

“This time I asked my husband, I said, ‘Should I play?’ and he said, ‘Just play! You might win.’”

She won a $440,643 jackpot, officials said.

Davis bought her winning Quick Pick ticket for the Jan. 10 drawing using Online Play on the lottery app.

“I woke up at 3:21 a.m., and I checked the app and it said, ‘You’re a winner,’” Davis said. “I couldn’t believe it was real. First time I ever played.”

She beat odds of about 1 in 960,000, according the Cash 5 website.

After taxes, Davis netted $311,755 in the nightly drawing game, officials said.

Saturday’s jackpot is $167,000, according to the Cash 5 site.

“I think it’s just for retirement,” Davis told officials. “Just to have something to reach back for.”

Beware of Powerball, Mega Millions scammers

Lottery officials also issued a scam alert as the Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots soar to a combined $1.3 billion.

One player reported being offered $5 million and a new car, lottery officials said in a separate news release.

“The catch?’ officials said, “To claim the prize, they had to pay a $400 processing fee. The good news — this player recognized the scam and gave us a call.”

The lottery offered these tips to protect against scammers:

Never pay a fee before claiming a prize.

“You can’t win a prize if you didn’t buy a ticket,” according to the lottery news release..

“Don’t disclose financial information up front, and never give your credit card information, Social Security number, driver’s license, passport or bank account numbers to someone contacting you through email, social media or phone.”

“Don’t buy winning tickets from strangers.”

“If you win a prize, always sign the back of your ticket. Whoever signs the ticket is considered the owner of that prize.”