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Fort Belvoir resident Gary Williams, a Sergeant First Class in the US Army, was the lucky winner of a $143,553 “Cash 5 with EZ Match” jackpot after the Fairfax County man played a lottery ticket on a whim he bought at an Alexandria gas station, though he didn’t quite believe his luck at first.
Williams purchased the ticket for the Friday, March 31 drawing at the Woodland Exxon on Richmond Highway, meaning that when he woke up and checked his ticket, it was actually April Fool’s Day - which was not lost on his family as he celebrated his big windfall.
“My son thought it was an April Fools’ joke,” he mused to Lottery officials as he claimed his prize.
The winning numbers for the sergeant’s big prize were 13-18-35-36-41.
The US Army recruiter, who lives in Fairfax County, said that he intends to save his winnings and put the cash toward his retirement from the service.
“Cash 5 with EZ Match” features a rolling jackpot that starts at a minimum of $100,000. Players who spend an extra dollar for the “EZ Match” feature will also win a prize of up to $500 associated with each numbers.
If those numbers match any of the numbers on the ticket for the drawing, the player wins that prize – even before the drawing is held.
The odds of matching all five numbers to win the jackpot at 1 in 749,398, according to Virginia Lottery.
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