A winner who scooped a lottery win worth more than USD 500,000 has told how he could not stop high-fiving his wife over the life-changing jackpot.

Lucky Kim Cantu, 65 – from Greenville, North Carolina state, USA – said: “We were both so excited.

“We were going around the house doing high-fives.”

He added: “We had a great weekend thinking about the win and all the possibilities of it.”

Kim’s win – worth USD 504,104 (GBP 426,078) – will help remodel his home and provide income in retirement, the North Carolina Education Lottery said in a statement on Tuesday, 7th March.

Kim bought his single USD 1 (GBP 0.84) ticket on 15th February.

But when he took it to the shop where he had bought it they told him they could not pay out.

Kim said in the statement, obtained by Newsflash: “The clerk just told me he couldn’t cash the ticket in the store because it was too large to pay out.

“I thought it was maybe USD 500 [GBP 422].”

But he was stunned when he checked the numbers online at home and saw the large sum of money on the screen.

Kim said: “I was actually shocked when I saw the amount.”

After letting it sink in, the couple collected their prize from the lottery headquarters on Monday, 6th March 2023.

They reportedly went home with USD 359,183 (GBP 303,491) following state and federal taxes.

North Carolina Education Lottery officials said: “Cash 5 is one of six lottery games in North Carolina where players have the option of buying their tickets through a retail location or Online Play, either through the lottery’s website or with the NC Lottery Official Mobile App.

“The odds of winning a Cash 5 jackpot are 1 in 962,598.

“Tuesday’s jackpot is USD 120,000 [GBP 101,394].”