Player tries random strategy for first time and wins big on the first attempt
By Kate Northrop
A North Carolina woman went with a new approach in picking her lottery numbers, and she came out on top with a $212,371 Cash 5 jackpot on the first try.
The North Carolina Lottery announced that a $212,371 Cash 5 jackpot winner employed a "unique strategy" to win the prize.
Dorothy Chester of Cedar Grove decided to try picking out her lottery numbers a different way one day, so she made a move to purchase a $1 ticket for the April 7 Cash 5 drawing via Online Play.
"I picked my numbers by just closing my eyes and pointing at them," she laughed with Lottery officials. "It was my first time trying that."
But although winning was all smiles, it was no joke. Chester's random strategy was enough to help her beat the odds of 1 in 962,598 and secure the six-figure jackpot.
"I just started stuttering," Chester recalled in a press release. "Then I went on the porch, and I was screaming and shouting."
Although it was her first time selecting numbers using that method, this wasn't her first time playing Cash 5. In fact, she's had her eye on the jackpot for quite some time.
"I always told myself, 'I'm going to win Cash 5 one day," Chester said.
She visited Lottery headquarters in Raleigh on April 14 to claim her prize and took home $152,929 after federal and state taxes. With her winnings, she said she plans on paying off some bills.
"It still seems surreal," she added.
Cash 5 drawings take place every day at 11:22 p.m. Eastern Time. All winning numbers, prizes and odds can be found on Lottery Post's North Carolina Lottery Results page right after each drawing.
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So she used the ol' "eenie meenie mynie mo" system.
Good thinking.
Congrats!
That's a cool way to pick. You never know what will work.
LOL! You got that right!
Yep
Numbers are where you find them.
"I picked my numbers by just closing my eyes and pointing at them," she laughed with Lottery officials. "It was my first time trying that."
Congratulations 🎉 on the win - may all your bills balance drop to zero.
My next project is getting a cork board, pin a Manila sheet with the lottery numbers, get some darts and fire off to the jackpot. Where the darts land is the numbers I play 🕺
Everybody wish me luck 🤣
I wonder how many people are going to try doing what she did after reading this.
LOL! Good Luck!
All those supplies, cork board, darts and manilla should cost me around $25 in a thrift store. Will budget $5 for gas.
Now, I better win at least $30 to break even, you know what am saying 🤣🤣🤣
If your is method isn't winning, then try a different method.
Congratulations Dorothy!!
It's called the Ouija board system. You put a slip down sideways or upside down and hover over it with a pen squinting or looking away some so you cannot make out the numbers or at least pretend you can't and let the pen fall on one # as many times as you need. It can work.
I absolutely love this story! She took a different route, followed her intuition, and it worked out, instantly. So amazing. Bravooo Dorothy Chester!
Of course I will, congrats to the lucky lady, enjoy,
This isn't something new. Thousands do this daily instead of asking for a quick pic. How many times when you get a quick pic do you say I do not like those numbers they gave me. They are too low or too many are grouped together. I want them spread out more. So many resort to spacing them better by using the random method on a slip instead of relying on the timing of some convenience store clerks fingers to pick your numbers.
So it's that easy? I'm going to try it tonight. Our Jersey Cash 5 in NJ is up to $956K.
Congrats to Dorothy on that sweet $212k Cash 5 hit, proof that shaking up your method can click on the first go, even if it's pure luck at 1 in 962,598 odds. Whatever her "new approach" was, blending 2-3 odds with evens and spreading across groups like 1-10, 11-20, etc., pops up in over 90% of draws historically, so it's worth tweaking if you're in a rut. Sticking to sums averaging 10-34 keeps combos realistic too, unlike all-low or sky-high shots that rarely land.
I tried eliminating all the single numbers in Cash Five. Picked 5 randomly from 10-35 figuring that improved my odds considerably as long as a single number wasn't drawn that night.