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A Richmond man, who wishes to remain anonymous, is $500,000 richer after winning the top prize of a Kentucky Lottery Scratch-off.
An avid Lottery player, the man won the prize on a $20 Wild Numbers 100X ticket. The winning ticket was sold at Gasoline Alley in Winchester on Dec. 3.
The man said he’s won $1,000 on the ticket a few times, but he had his eyes on a larger prize.
“It’s amazing, life-changing money,” he said. “I kept telling my wife, ‘One of these days, I’m going to hit the big one!’”
He said playing the lottery is part of his usual weekend routine. He recalled scratching the ticket in-store and the excitement that followed.
“I scratched the next number, and it was five times $10,000,” he said. “I knew immediately that the next prize up is the top prize. I was like, ‘Oh my, God!’ And the girl behind the counter said, ‘What’s wrong?’ And, I said, ‘I just hit $500,000!’”
The man left the store and decided to surprise his family with the news of his big win. He said he had his family gather in the kitchen to break the news.
“I have something to talk to you all about,” the man said. “I was really serious. I said, ‘do you remember a year ago or so that I hit $10,000 twice? Well, I just hit $500,000!’ It was pretty amazing.”
Before heading to lottery headquarters the next day to claim his winnings, he had some fun celebrating the win by making a fashion statement.
“He wore it like a necklace around the house,” the man’s wife said. “He taped it to his shirt, I was like, ‘go put that in safe right now!’”
The couple has generous plans for their winnings. They plan to give a portion of the money to members of their family including their parents, children and close relatives to pay off medical and education expenses.
“We believe in paying it forward,” the man’s wife said. “We can’t keep all that money ourselves.”
The couple walked away with a check for $357,500 after taxes. Gasoline Alley will receive $5,000 for selling the winning ticket.
