A man traveling through North Carolina gains $120K.

While driving through North Carolina, Jonathan Hodge from Luverne, Alabama, decided to make a spontaneous stop to try his luck with a lottery game. With no particular goal in mind other than to break the monotony of his journey, he purchased a lottery ticket—a decision that proved to be quite fortunate.

He bought a ticket for Cash 5, a popular game that recently saw a significant six-figure win in New Jersey, without giving it much thought. Soon, he discovered that he had won a substantial amount—turning him richer than when he entered the state. On Friday, May 16, the North Carolina Education Lottery confirmed in a press release that Hodge had indeed won the prize of $120,000 from the May 8 draw. After federal and state taxes, he took home a lump sum of $86,109—a commendable amount. Hodge's win came as a result of a random decision. He picked up the ticket without selecting numbers himself, opting for a quick pick where the machine generated random numbers for him. To his surprise, all five numbers matched, securing him the jackpot. The odds of matching all five numbers stand at 1 in 962,598. In a recent New Jersey jackpot, 19 participants were close, with four matching numbers, but the fifth number was elusive. Hodge remains calm about his unexpected win, expressing that he didn't expect to hit the jackpot. He remarked, When it's my time, then it's my time. While it's not enough for retirement, he's content with the winnings, calling it a nice little cushion.