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The North Carolina Education Lottery has reported a huge half-million-dollar jackpot win by an eastern North Carolina man.

When Kim Cantu, of Greenville, first learned that he won some money playing Cash 5, he had no idea that he just won a $504,104 jackpot.

“The clerk just told me he couldn’t cash the ticket in the store because it was too large to pay out,” Cantu recalled. “I thought it was maybe $500.”

After leaving the store, Cantu went home and checked his numbers online.

“I was actually shocked when I saw the amount,” he said.

He immediately ran to tell his wife the good news. “We were both so excited,” Cantu said. “We were going around the house doing high-fives.”

Cantu, a 65-year-old former store manager, bought his lucky $1 Cash 5 ticket for the Feb. 15 drawing from the Speedway on Charles Boulevard in Greenville.

“We had a great weekend thinking about the win and all the possibilities of it,” he said.

Cantu arrived at lottery headquarters last Monday to collect his prize and, after required state and federal tax withholdings, took home $359,183.

He said he will use the winnings to do remodel his home and put some in savings for retirement.

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