College grad buys KY Lottery ticket while out with friends. It was a big winner
A Cincinnati man’s heartbeat was in his ears after he learned he won $125,000 on a lottery scratch-off ticket he bought while filling up on gas in Kentucky.
Rohith Kandula bought some lottery tickets at a Fort Wright Shell station just outside of Covington recently. He was joined by four of his closest friends and fellow recent University of Cincinnati graduates.
According to a Thursday Kentucky Lottery news release, Kandula initially won $10 and then decided to play the $5 Kentucky Jackpot game. Players win prizes through the game by matching their numbers to any of the winning numbers printed on the ticket. In Kandula’s case, his ticket was covered in “5x” symbols, meaning the prize amount was multiplied five times.
The five friends scanned the ticket at the Fort Wright Shell station, then reeled at the result.
“It’s like we didn’t know what to do at that time because it was a big winner,” Kandula said. “We took the scratch-off to the car and we all started shouting…..loudly. My heart was beating like 120, no 160. I was in shock. I could hear my heartbeat,” Kandula told Kentucky Lottery officials, per the release.
Still in shock a few days after the win, Kandula downloaded the Kentucky Lottery’s app and scanned the winning ticket.
“I was still thinking is this true or not,” he said.
Kandula recently made the trip to Kentucky Lottery headquarters in Louisville to claim his winnings and was joined by his friends. The group studied together in India and all transferred to the University of Cincinnati’s information technology master’s program in 2023. They graduated in 2024.
The winner told lottery officials he plans to use the money to pay off his student loans and send some to his family.
“My family back home has worked so hard for me, so I want to give back to them,” he said.
The group of friends also plans to take a big trip together that Kandula will pay for, the Kentucky Lottery said.
After taxes, Kandula got a check for $82,500.
As of May 7, two top prizes of $125,000 remain in the Kentucky Jackpot game. The overall odds of winning any prize in the game, which range from $5 to $125,000, are 1 in 3.52.
In another recent Kentucky Lottery win, an Alexandria woman won $50,000 on a separate scratch-off game.
If you or someone you know has a problem gambling, help is available at 1-800-522-4700.
Do you have a question about the Kentucky Lottery for our service journalism team? We’d like to hear from you. Email ask@herald-leader.com or fill out our Know Your Kentucky form.