Lottery ticket reminds KY woman of a hit classic country song. It won her family $100K
A Louisville family is $100,000 richer after scratching off the top prize in the Kentucky Lottery’s Ring of Fire game.
According to the state lottery, Janita Carter was joined by her husband and son when she bought the $5 ticket at a Shell station in South Louisville last month. Asked why she chose that game in particular, Carter said it reminded her of Johnny Cash.
In the Ring of Fire game, players win by scratching off a set of 15 numbers in hopes of matching one of the three winning numbers. The overall odds of winning any prize through the game are 1 in 3.51, and prizes can range from as little as $5 to the top prize of $100,000.
In Carter’s case, she matched the winning number 28 to win the game’s grand prize. She and her family were initially in disbelief.
“I was waiting for Ashton Kutcher to jump out of a cooler or something. There was so much excitement,” the woman’s son told Kentucky Lottery officials, referring to a popular 2000s-era MTV television show, Punk’d, co-created by the actor.
After taxes, Carter went home with a check for $72,000. She told the lottery she hopes to buy a car with her winnings, as well as share the prize with family members.
“It’s not going to just go to us. We have people we love,” she said.
Carter and her family aren’t the only Kentucky Lottery players who recently won six-figures playing lottery games. The agency announced last week that an Eastern Kentucky woman plans to pay off her house after winning north of $100,000 on a scratch-off game.
If you or someone you know has a problem gambling, help is available at 1-800-522-4700.
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This story was originally published January 17, 2025 at 5:15 AM.