Fayetteville Woman Shares In $793,257 NC Education Lottery Jackpot

A retired teacher from Fayetteville is celebrating big right now, as she won a share of a $793,257 NC Education Lottery jackpot.

Lola Allen won $264,419 off a $1 Cash 5 lottery ticket purchased on the Food Lion on Rosehill Road. She told the NC Education Lottery she has played the same numbers for years, but didn't expect to win.

“From the very beginning I’ve been using the same numbers,” Allen said. “They are my favorite numbers so I stuck with them. When they all fell into place, I was in shock. I was numb.”

Allen, who is a retired physical education teacher from Fayetteville, was one of three winners in last Tuesday night's Cash 5 NC Education Lottery drawing that paid out $793,257 total. So each of the three winners will take home $264,419. Strangely enough, one of the other two winners was from right here in Cumberland County too!

A Spring Lake man, who the NC Education Lottery did not identify, picked up his prize last Wednesday. The third winner hasn't come forward yet, but the ticket was sold at a gas station in Asheville.

After required state and federal tax withholdings, Allen gets to keep $187,764.

According to the NC Education Lottery, Cash 5 tickets can be purchased either in store, or through the Online Play system on the website or through their official mobile app.

"Cash 5 is one of four lottery games in North Carolina where players have the option of buying their tickets at a retail store or through Online Play, either through the lottery’s website or with the NC Lottery Official Mobile App. Cash 5 tickets are $1 and drawings are held every night. Friday’s drawing offers a $100,000 jackpot."

If you're looking for good food across Southeastern North Carolina, you've got plenty of restaurant options, and thanks to the Food Network, a lot of people know about them.

The folks over at tvfoodmaps.com have done the work of legends, putting together a complete directory of all the restaurants that have appeared on some of the network's most popular shows.

So we took a dive to look at some of the best Southeastern North Carolina restaurant choices. For the sake of this discussion, we're calling "Southeastern North Carolina" anything south of Raleigh, and east of basically Pinehurst. So you won't find any of the MANY restaurants on the list in Raleigh, for example.

What you will find is a host of North Carolina restaurants that serve up everything from barbecue to seafood, and a little of all of the in between.

You'll find restaurants on Fort Bragg, over in Wilson, and down to Wilmington. And they've been on shows like "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" and "Food Paradise," as well as several others.

So let's take a look at the North Carolina restaurant list from Food Network shows, who have come down here to the wonderful Southeastern portion of the state:

8617 North Carolina 55, Angier - Seen on Food Paradise (Reopens March 1)

9th Infantry Street, Fort Bragg - Seen on Restaurant Impossible

https://bragg.armymwr.com/programs/smoke-bomb-grille

194 Gilliam McConnell Road, Carthage - Seen on Food Paradise

(Note: the original Pik N Pig restaurant in Carthage was destroyed by a fire last May. But they are in the works of building a new location. Read more about it here.)

2656 U.S. 301, Wilson - Seen on Food Paradise

751 State Road 1204, Greenville - Seen on Food Paradise

https://www.ourstate.com/a-day-at-bs-barbecue-greenville/

715 West Fire Tower Road, Winterville - Seen on Best Thing I Ever Ate and Food Paradise

4618 Lee Street, Ayden - Seen on Food Paradise

4688 Long Beach Road Southeast, Southport - Seen on Man vs. Food

109 Chestnut St., Wilmington - Seen on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives

114 Market Street, Wilmington - Seen on Best Thing I Ever Ate

624 South 17th Street, Wilmington - Seen on Best Thing I Ever Ate

1895 Burnett Boulevard, Wilmington - Seen on Best Thing I Ever Ate

4002 Oleander Drive, Wilmington - Seen on Man vs. Food and Best Thing I Ever Ate

3436 South College Road, Wilmington - Seen on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives

6301 Oleander Drive, Wilmington - Seen on Restaurant Impossible

1611 Pavillion Place, Wilmington - Seen on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives

7210 Wrightsville Avenue, Wilmington - Seen on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives

122 Market Street, Wilmington - Seen on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives

(This is from the Carolina Beach location.)

8024 Market Street, Wilmington - Seen on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives

6400 Carolina Beach Road, Wilmington - Seen on Man vs. Food