Raleigh man almost falls out of fishing boat upon learning of lottery win

Raleigh, N.C. — Danny Bizzell bought a Cash 5 lottery ticket on July 12, gave it to his wife and went fishing.

He was in the middle of a lake when his wife, Sandra Dickinson, called to tell him he had won a $792,655 jackpot.

“I almost fell overboard,” Bizzell said Monday. “I told her, ‘Are you freaking kidding me?'”

Bizzell bought the winning ticket at the Food Lion on North Rogers Lane in Raleigh, using the same numbers he’s played for almost 13 years.

“When I got my first Cash 5 ticket, I had the machine pick the numbers for me,” he said. “I’m superstitious and don’t like change, so I’ve been using the same set ever since. I can’t believe they finally came up.”

The ticket beat odds of one-in-962,598 to win the jackpot.

The couple claimed their prize $560,805 after taxes, on Monday.

Dickinson said the jackpot means a second chance at her dream honeymoon.

“My husband and I didn’t get to go on a real honeymoon,” she said. “But now we can. We’re going to take a cruise. I love to travel, but my husband’s never been outside the country.”

They also plan to replace the fishing boat they got back in 2004.