Out-of-state player ‘shocked’ after winning huge prize on Kentucky Lottery scratch-off
A Tennessee resident and his father recently hit the jackpot when he uncovered a seven-figure prize on a Kentucky Lottery scratch-off ticket.
Jody, who the Kentucky Lottery said requested not to share his last name, claimed the prize after his father purchased a $1,000,000 Casino Nights scratch-off ticket at a Logan County convenience store in early June. Jody’s father scratched the card at the market and had high hopes for its potential winnings, lottery officials said.
“I said [to the clerk], ‘If I hit this million dollars, I ain’t ever eating bologna again,” Jody’s father told the Kentucky Lottery.
Jody’s father revealed the scratch-off game’s top prize of $1 million within the ticket’s first couple of rows. In shock, he called his son to share the big news.
“He went, ‘You’ll never believe what I just did,’” Jody told lottery officials. “And I said, ‘What?’ He said, ‘We just won $1 million!’ I was sitting there thinking, ‘Yeah, right. I don’t believe you!’”
The father and son from Springfield, Tenn., drove to the Kentucky Lottery’s headquarters two days later to claim their prize, which came out to roughly $700,000 as a lump cash sum (or about $504,000 after taxes). Adairville Market, located at 135 S. Main St. in Adairville, will receive a $7,000 bonus for selling the winning scratch-off ticket, according to lottery officials.
Jody told the Kentucky Lottery his family’s big win didn’t affect his weekend plans. Sure enough, he mowed the lawn and took care of his yard just like usual.
In a statement to lottery officials, Jody said he plans on investing the money and helping his family live a more comfortable life.
“You go home and become debt-free,” Jody told the Kentucky Lottery. “Houses are paid off. Cars paid off, done. We will be bill-free probably next week.”
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The ticket $1,000,000 Casino Nights tasks players with revealing three matching symbols within one of 20 “games” that resemble slot machine screens. Each ticket for the instant-win game costs $20, with additional bonuses and multipliers available through chance.
The overall odds of winning any prize on a $1,000,000 Casino Nights scratch-off card are about 1 in 2.74, according to the Kentucky Lottery game’s rules and regulations. However, the chances of winning the $700,000 cash prize, which can grow to $1 million in the form of $50,000 annually for 20 years, are about 1 in 400,000, the lottery estimates.
Roughly three grand prize-winning tickets are expected in each batch of 1.2 million ordered tickets, the Kentucky Lottery says. The actual number of winners, the actual prize fund, the actual percentage payout and the actual odds of winning may vary.
Kentucky Lottery sales in 2023 exceeded $1.8 billion.
If you or someone you know has a problem with gambling, help is available by calling 1-800-522-4700.
Do you have a question about the lottery in Kentucky for our service journalism team? We’d like to hear from you. Fill out our Know Your Kentucky form or email ask@herald-leader.com.
