Terry Coggeshall and his wife had been playing the same set of lottery numbers for the last 26 years and finally hit the gold, winning more than $366,000.
Looks like the 26th time was a charm for one North Carolina couple who won the Cash 5 lottery jackpot. Terry Coggeshall and his wife had been playing the same set of lottery numbers for the last 26 years and finally hit the gold, winning more than $366,000. Coggeshall said he learned of their good fortune while he was sitting in his La-Z-Boy recliner and his wife was standing and watching television on Wednesday when the numbers were announced, UPI reported.
“She started screaming, ‘I won, I won.” And, I go, ‘What?!” Coggeshall said.
On Thursday they claimed their prize at the headquarters of the North Carolina Education Lottery in Raleigh, the Associated Press reported.
Coggeshall told the news outlet he had been playing the same numbers for more than two decades and that they “had gotten close to winning a few times,” but they never thought they would take home the Cash 5 jackpot. The odds of winning were 1 in 962,598.
“These are my wife’s number that we’ve been playing for 26 years,” Coggeshall told lottery officials. “We started playing them in Florida when we lived there.”
He said that they bought their winning ticket at a grocery store in Chapel Hill.
“We never really thought that we’d get all of that,” Coggeshall said. “I can’t wait to see my wife’s face when she looks at the check.”
Coggeshall, a delivery coordinator, said the jackpot will allow the pair to live more comfortably.
“It will take a lot of stress off. It’ll be a good amount to put away to help with retirement,” he added.
After required federal and state tax withholding, they will take home $259,425, The News & Observer reported.
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