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Kentucky lottery winners strike it rich: 7 tales of unexpected fortune

Stories by Lexington Herald-Leader journalists, with AI summarization

These articles describe Kentucky residents who have won large lottery prizes. The articles show varied ways winners discover their luck, claim their prizes and decide how to use the money.

A Lexington couple planned overseas travel after winning $50,000 in Powerball. A Campbell County man scratched off a ticket worth $1 million and helped his family with the winnings. In Tompkinsville, a woman won $5 million on her birthday, the biggest scratch-off prize in Kentucky history, and plans to buy a new home.

A group of Barton 1792 Distillery workers pooled their money and landed a big Powerball win.

NO. 1: KENTUCKY DISTILLERY WORKERS WHO PLAY POWERBALL FOR FUN SPLITTING BIG WIN 17 WAYS

One of the pool players has been with the distillery for 45 years. | Published April 2, 2025 | Read Full Story by Aaron Mudd

Cheryl and Bobby Taylor pose for a picture with their winnings.

NO. 2: LEXINGTON COUPLE CASHES IN ON A BIG POWERBALL WIN WITH PLANS TO TRAVEL OVERSEAS

The couple told the lottery they play in support of scholarships that once benefited their own children. | Published February 26, 2025 | Read Full Story by Aaron Mudd

The debate over the debt limit will likely flare tensions between centrist and far-right Republicans the closer the country gets to the real deadline sometime later in the year.

NO. 3: ‘HOW MANY ZEROES DOES IT HAVE?’ KENTUCKY MAN SCRATCHES OFF 7-FIGURE LOTTERY WIN

The anonymous man told lottery officials he plans to buy his mother a condo with the winnings. | Published January 8, 2025 | Read Full Story by Aaron Mudd

Jugador de la Lotería de la Florida gana $131,000. ¿Dónde se vendió el afortunado boleto?

NO. 4: WESTERN KENTUCKY MAN PAID $20 FOR A LOTTERY TICKET — IT PROVED TO BE A 7-FIGURE WINNER

“I was kind of in shock,” he told Kentucky Lottery officials. | Published March 24, 2025 | Read Full Story by Aaron Mudd

Sydeny Stevins, of Alexandria in Campbell County, poses recently at Kentucky Lottery headquarters in Louisville with her winnings.

NO. 5: KENTUCKY WOMAN THOUGHT HER LOTTERY TICKET LOOKED SUSPICIOUS—IT WAS A BIG WINNER

She told lottery officials she thought there might be something different about this ticket. | Published May 6, 2025 | Read Full Story by Aaron Mudd

Jugador compra un boleto de $50 de la Lotería y se lleva jugoso premio.

NO. 6: KY WOMAN’S BIRTHDAY LOTTERY TICKET WINS HER THE LARGEST SCRATCH-OFF PRIZE ON RECORD

“This birthday is going to be hard to beat,” she told lottery officials. | Published May 13, 2025 | Read Full Story by Meredith Howard

Boletos comprados en Publix y dos 7-Eleven se reparten el premio gordo de la Lotería de la Florida.

NO. 7: ‘ZEROS KEPT APPEARING.’ KY MAN SCRATCHES OFF NOT 1, BUT 3 WINNING LOTTERY TICKETS

All three of the scratch-offs he bought were winners, but one was worth a lot more than the others. | Published May 29, 2025 | Read Full Story by Meredith Howard

The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories listed were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.