A veteran who battled major medical issues last year has won the $100,000 Jersey Cash 5 jackpot, the New Jersey Lottery said in a news release on Wednesday.
Craig Reynolds, a long-time lottery player, discovered the winner when he was going through a stack of lottery tickets that had been piling up in his car for more than a month.
He was shocked when he scanned the Jersey Cash 5 ticket on his phone and saw that it was a winner.
“I immediately called my wife to tell her that ‘I think we won the jackpot,’” Reynolds said. “She couldn’t believe it either and thought there might be a problem with the scanner.”
Still in disbelief, they brought the ticket to the liquor store where their son works and scanned it on the machine, which confirmed that it was a $100,000 winner.
In the middle of the store, his wife shouted, “We won $100,000,” drawing a lot of attention from customers, he said.
Reynolds purchased the ticket at a Quick Mart on Whitehorse Pike in Clementon. The winning numbers were 8, 13, 18, 27 and 42.
The news of hitting the jackpot comes just a year after Reynolds suffered serious health issues. In 2023, he was suffering from cancer and had a stroke that affected his mobility.
His cancer is now in remission and he has gained full mobility. Now he and his wife are trying to decide whether they will go on a fishing trip in the mountains or sunbathe on the beach.
New Jersey is one of the 18 states where lottery winners have the option to remain anonymous. Reynolds is one of the rare winners who was willing to be publicly named.
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Nicolas Fernandes may be reached at nfernandes@njadvancemedia.com.
