National

Friends buy lottery ticket to celebrate Chiefs win — and end up with win of their own

Celebrating the Kansas City Chiefs win against the Miami Dolphins, two friends bought a Keno ticket in Missouri. They won over $77,000.
Celebrating the Kansas City Chiefs win against the Miami Dolphins, two friends bought a Keno ticket in Missouri. They won over $77,000. Dylan Nolte via Unsplash

Celebrating a Kansas City Chiefs win against the Miami Dolphins, two friends purchased a Keno ticket in Springfield, Missouri.

After scanning the ticket, the pair had another reason to celebrate. They won $77,688, according to the Missouri Lottery.

“He just stood there for a while and then he turned around and mouthed, ‘It says claim at Lottery office,’” one friend told lottery officials. “I didn’t think anything of it until he had the bartender run it.”

When the woman first looked at their winnings, she thought they had won $7,000. “I squinted, and I was like, ‘Oh my, it’s way more than that!’” she told Missouri lottery.

“I told him I was going to cry, and he was just like, “No, don’t cry! We’ve got to go put this ticket somewhere safe!’” the friends told lottery officials.

The friends purchased an 8-Spot ticket, which won them $10,000, and also played the Bulls-Eye feature, which won them another $50,000, lottery officials said. An additional jackpot prize on the 8-Spot ticket brought the final amount to $77,688, according to officials.

Players in Greene County won over $50 million in the Missouri Lottery in fiscal year 2023, officials said.

Springfield is about 160 miles southeast of Kansas City.

Many people can gamble or play games of chance without harm. However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.

If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website.

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This story was originally published January 26, 2024 at 10:50 AM with the headline "Friends buy lottery ticket to celebrate Chiefs win — and end up with win of their own."

Kate Linderman
mcclatchy-newsroom
Kate Linderman covers national news for McClatchy’s real-time team. She reports on politics and crime and courts news in the Midwest. Kate is a 2023 graduate of DePaul University and is based in Chicago.
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