‘Dreams do come true’: Cabarrus County man wins $837K jackpot

David Atwell, of Kannapolis, said a dream his sister had foreshadowed his $837,187 Cash 5 jackpot win Saturday night, officials with the N.C. Education Lottery said.

“In her dream, I found a bunch of gold,” he recalled. “I guess dreams do come true.”

Atwell said he has always had luck on his side.

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“My family always said I was the luckiest one in the family,” he laughed.

Atwell bought a $1 ticket from Jiffy Quik on Sloop Avenue in Kannapolis. He matched all five numbers to win the jackpot. The odds of matching numbers on all five white balls are 1 in 962,598.

“I was stunned,” he said. “At first I saw the jackpot went back down to $100,000 so I knew someone hit it. I had no idea it was me.”

Atwell could barely control his emotions when he found out he won the jackpot.

“He was hollering so much it scared the cat,” Atwell’s wife Cherie said.

He claimed his prize at lottery headquarters Monday in Raleigh and, after required federal and state tax withholdings, took home $598,591.

Atwell said he plans to give some money to his church and pay some bills.

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