Shiny dime in parking lot catches woman’s eye — and leads to big Florida lottery win

Loose change found in a store’s parking lot is getting credit for helping a woman win big in the Florida Lottery.

Sarah Mallory, 57, is the lucky player, and she says it’s all due to a dime found outside the Belleview Food Store in Belleview, about a 70-mile drive northwest from Orlando.

“As we pulled into the store, we noticed a shiny dime had landed on heads underneath our Harley,” Mallory said in March 31 Florida Lottery news release.

“My husband and I enjoy collecting dimes, and that symbol changed everything, encouraging us to buy a ticket.”

She bought a $5 Monopoly Secret Vault ticket at the store and won one of the game’s six $1 million jackpots, lottery officials said.

Odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 6,477,970, according to officials.

Mallory claimed her prize March 31 and took “a one-time, lump-sum payment of $576,900,” officials said.

The couple live in the unincorporated Ocklawaha community, about an 8-mile drive east from the Belleview Food Store. The store’s operator gets a $2,000 bonus commission for selling the ticket, lottery officials said.

Monopoly Secret Vault is a scratch-off game and tickets range from $1 to $20, with prizes of $5 million with the $20 tickets.

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This story was originally published March 31, 2025 at 1:58 PM with the headline "Shiny dime in parking lot catches woman’s eye — and leads to big Florida lottery win."