Cedar Grove woman wins over $200k playing Cash 5

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- A spur-of-the-moment decision paid off big for Dorothy Chester of Cedar Grove, who landed a $212,371 jackpot playing Cash 5.

Chester said she decided to try a new way of choosing her numbers for the April 7 drawing -- by closing her eyes and pointing at the screen.

"I picked my numbers by just closing my eyes and pointing at them," she said with a laugh. "It was my first time trying that."

She purchased her $1 ticket using Online Play, where the odds of matching all five numbers are 1 in 962,598.

The moment she realized she had won was overwhelming.

"I just started stuttering," Chester recalled. "Then I went on the porch and I was screaming and shouting."

Chester said she had always believed a big win was in her future.

"I always told myself, 'I'm going to win Cash 5 one day,'" she said.

She claimed her prize Tuesday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After federal and state tax withholdings, Chester took home $152,929.

"It still seems surreal," she said.

Chester plans to use her winnings to pay bills.