KY man passes over vending machines to buy lottery ticket at counter — it paid off big
Just in time for his anniversary, a Florence, Ky., man won a $1 million lottery prize recently after purchasing a Millionaire Club scratch-off ticket at a Burlington Kroger grocery store.
The man, who asked Kentucky Lottery officials to stay anonymous, is a frequent player, according to a Wednesday release from the organization. He said he first stopped at one lottery vending machine in the store, but just “didn’t feel lucky.”
“So I walked all the way down to the other side of the store, and they didn’t have any,” the man told Kentucky Lottery officials, per the release. “So, I was walking back and stopped at customer service ... That’s when I asked for ticket number one.”
The man returned home, where he scratched off the ticket only to find he won the top prize of $1 million.
“I saw the big zero and thought I’d won $100, but there was another zero, so I thought it was $1,000 and then there was another zero and another zero until I saw a million,” he said.
Like many scratch-off games, Millionaire Club tasks players with matching their numbers to winning numbers down the ticket. It includes bonuses of 10, 50, 100 and 500 times multipliers.
The Florence man is not the only lottery player having luck with the game. In September, a Mt. Sterling man won $50,000 on another Millionaire Club ticket.
As of Tuesday, there are three $1 million prizes remaining for Millionaire Club tickets, according to Kentucky Lottery’s website. The overall odds of winning a prize are about 1 in 2.98, and winnings range from $75 to the top $1 million prize. The second highest prize is $50,000, and most winnings are between $75 and $200.
After telling his wife about the win, the Florence couple drove to lottery headquarters in Louisville to collect their prize, which amounted to $710,000 after taxes.
The win came just in time for their anniversary, which was a couple days after they collected their prize.
“I told her I gave her a million dollars for our anniversary,” the man said.
The man told lottery officials that they’ll use the winnings to take a vacation and save the rest for his wife’s retirement.
The Kroger store will get $10,000 for selling the ticket.
If you or someone you know has a problem gambling, help is available at 1-800-522-4700.
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