Pender County man retires after $226,962 “Cash 5” win

RALEIGH, NC (NEWS RELEASE) – Rick Poole, a 66-year-old courier from Hampstead in Pender County, says he plans to retire for a second time now that he’s won $226,962 playing the N.C. Education Lottery’s “Carolina Cash 5” game. He matched all five numbers in the Oct. 7 drawing by playing a random assortment of numbers and the day of his birth. Poole, an avid player of Cash 5 and Powerball, learned of his win when he checked the winning number poster in the convenience store where he often buys tickets.

“I looked at it and I just couldn’t believe it,” Poole said as he collected his prize, worth $154,334 after taxes. “I had to go into the restroom and pull myself together.” He had retired at age 62 as a “run over the road” truck driver, but his “Cash 5” win allows him to retire again. The ticket was purchased at Minuteman Food Mart #19 on Causeway Drive in Ocean Isle in Brunswick County. A ticket sold in Hiddenite in Alexander County from the Oct. 1 drawing worth $137,007 has yet to be claimed.