A London, Ky. couple, married for over three decades, is celebrating a life-changing win after hitting big on a Kentucky Lottery Scratch-off ticket. The pair, who wish to remain anonymous, won $1,500,000 playing the $20 “Wild Cash 200X.
The husband, a longtime lottery player, said he typically sticks to $10 games. He bought the winning ticket recently from a Kentucky Lottery vending machine, which is a change from his usual routine. “I’m surprised that I even bought that ticket,” he said. “I usually buy it from the counter.”
After scratching off the first row of numbers, the husband’s first thought was that he might be mistaken. He said he checked the ticket “fifty times to making sure my eyes weren’t bad!” He matched the number 21 on the ticket to win the game’s $1.5 million top prize.
Once reality set in, the man said he was a nervous wreck finding a safe place to keep the winning ticket before making a trip to Louisville to cash in.
“What if the house burns down?” he asked jokingly, “What if I put it in my pocket and rub the numbers off? What if my truck gets stolen?”
“I just repeated that cycle for the last two days,” he added with a smile, relieved to have finally received his winning check. The couple chose to take the $1,025,000 lump sum payment rather than annuity payments of $75,000 a year for 20 years. They took home $738,000 after taxes.
The ticket was sold at Git N Go on 855 E. Laurel Road in London. The store will receive $10,250 for selling the winning ticket.
The couple is excited to start a new chapter of their life with fewer worries about money. “I don't have to [worry about] the electric bill that’s coming in.”
They plan to use the money to pay off their home and car and consider retirement.
Most of all, they want to give back the people in London. “I promised the Lord that if I ever won big, that I would [help] the elderly and children,” the man said. He wants to do things like pay for an elderly couple’s dinner or buy a toy for a child in a store.
“We’re actually going to just live how we’ve been living,” he added, “but with the ability to help others.”
