North Carolina Man Wins $837K Lottery Prize After Sister Had a Dream He Found a 'Bunch of Gold'

There’s a healthy combination of luck and dreams involved in winning the lottery, but for one North Carolina man, it was his sister’s dream that foreshadowed his win of over $830,000. 

The North Carolina Education Lottery said in a release that David Atwell, of Kannapolis, won $837,187 from the Cash 5 jackpot on April 27.

But according to lottery officials, his sister’s dream predicted his win. “In her dream I found a bunch of gold,” he said, adding, “I guess dreams do come true.”

Atwell purchased the winning ticket for $1, but said he never thought he was the actual winner.

He matched all five numbers to win the jackpot, officials noted. The odds of matching numbers on all five white balls are 1 in 962,598.

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“I was stunned,” he said. “At first I saw the jackpot went back down to $100,000 so I knew someone hit it. I had no idea it was me.”

On April 29, Atwell claimed his winnings, and after federal and state taxes, he took home $598,591, according to officials. He now plans to give some money to his church and pay some bills.

North Carolina has proven to be a location of luck, with Donnie Leviner beating the odds by 1 in 1,598,205 to $2 million lottery prize, lottery officials shared this week. “Something just told me to buy it,” he told officials.

According to lottery officials, Leviner has previously only purchased a few lottery tickets. This time, the 18-year-old man decided to buy the $20 Big Cash Payout ticket — and then he won. After required state and federal tax withholdings, he took home $858,006.

“I was in disbelief,” he recalled.