PETERSBURG, VA – When Linda Childress’s husband saw their favorite combination of numbers appear in the Virginia Lottery’s Cash 5 with EZ Match drawing on August 13, he immediately asked her if she had played. She had, and the ticket she purchased at Marathon Food Mart was now worth $105,000.
Childress, a Petersburg resident, shared her excitement with Lottery officials. “It feels like a dream,” she said.
The numbers Childress likes to play, 5-7-8-23-27, hold special significance, correlating with family birthdays and anniversaries. The Cash 5 game features a rolling jackpot that starts at $100,000, with odds of winning the jackpot at 1 in 749,398.
The game also includes the option for EZ Match, where for an additional dollar, players can receive five randomly generated numbers. Each number comes with an associated prize of up to $500. If the player’s EZ Match numbers correspond with any numbers on their ticket, they win that prize instantly, even before the drawing.
Childress plans to use her winnings to purchase a new vehicle.