Gas station customer wins life-changing prize after buying $50 Florida Lottery ticket

A 35-year-old man’s trip to the gas station changed his life when he spent $50 on a single lottery ticket and won big.

Joseph Martin, 35, of Jacksonville, beat odds of 1 in 274,004 to win a second-tier prize of $1 million, the Florida Lottery said in a Feb. 26 news release.

Martin had to make a choice of whether to go with annual payments or get a lump sum. He chose the lump of cash, which came to $640,000 after withholdings, the lottery reported.

The ticket was purchased at a Gate convenience store on Collins Road in Jacksonville and the station gets a $2,000 commission for selling the winning ticket, officials said.

The game launched with two top prizes of $25 million — “largest ever offered on a Florida Scratch-Off game” — and one remains. Odds of winning $25 million are 1 in 21,920,355.

One of the $25 million top prizes was won in December by a convenience store patron in Venice, and the person declined to reveal their name.

The big winner opted for a lump sum of $16 million.

This story was originally published February 27, 2025 at 10:13 AM with the headline "Gas station customer wins life-changing prize after buying $50 Florida Lottery ticket."