Active-duty Army soldier wins big with Pennsylvania Lottery jackpot
BEAVER COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — An Active-Duty Army soldier who recently moved to Pennsylvania won over $1.3 million in the PA Lottery.
Christopher Lehman, of Beaver County, has been an active-duty service member in the Army for 25 years. He told lottery officials that he and his wife moved to Pennsylvania last month from New Hampshire.
In that time, Lehman managed to win a lottery online jackpot of $1,351,472 by playing Jackpot Spectacular on Friday, May 30 — the same day he signed up to play online.
'My wife always says I have good luck,' Lehman told lottery officials. 'I looked at the progressive prize amount for Jackpot Spectacular and thought, 'That one's about to pop soon.' I budgeted $100 to play that day. I figured, if I lose, I lose.'
A progressive prize is one in which the jackpot keeps growing until the prize is won, the lottery stated.
Power Play: Powerball ticket worth $200K sold in Pennsylvania
'The bonus popped up and I couldn't believe it,' Lehman added. 'I just stared at it for a second. My wife didn't believe it either. We called the Lottery together, and I put the phone on speaker so we could both hear it was real.'
Lehman and his wife, Judith, said they plan to use their prize money to pay off their mortgage and Judith's car loan.
'My wife and I just moved here from New Hampshire about a month ago,' he said. 'I'm active duty in the Army for the past 25 years. I enjoyed playing Lottery games online in New Hampshire and now online in Pennsylvania.''Echoing the Secretary, congratulations to Christopher on winning this exciting prize, and we thank him for his service,' Pennsylvania Lottery Executive Director Drew Svitko said. 'We're always happy to see one of our players win a prize that will make a big difference in their lives.'
Lehman added that they'll likely invest the rest of the winnings. He also shared with lottery officials that his youngest daughter is graduating from basic training, successfully following in her father's footsteps.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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