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Miami Herald
06-05-2025
- General
- Miami Herald
Man thinks jackpot Missouri lottery ticket is fake. Then he ‘started to panic'
National Man thinks jackpot Missouri lottery ticket is fake. Then he 'started to panic' The Missouri lottery player called his win an 'odd experience.' Photo by Giorgio Trovato via Unsplash A lottery player's forgetful mistake led him to a jackpot lottery win in Missouri, officials say. After forgetting to get gas the night before, the Missouri man stopped at a Circle K in Chesterfield the next morning. While there, he picked up a 777 Jackpot scratch-off ticket, according to the Missouri Lottery. He questioned what he saw when he scratched off the ticket. 'It honestly looked fake at first,' he told lottery officials in an April 17 news release. 'It was such an odd experience.' He had a reason to wonder if the ticket was real. There were a lot of 7s staring back at him, after all, as he won one of the game's jackpot prizes of $777,777. The winner said he checked his ticket over and over before believing it. 'Once I knew it was real, I started to panic a little bit!' he told lottery officials. 'I kept expecting something to happen before I got home with it!' When he safely made it home, he signed the ticket and put it away 'for safekeeping.' The winner said he plans to use part of his winnings to fund an upcoming 20th anniversary trip for he and his wife. The 777 Jackpot game costs $10 to play and offers two jackpot prizes of $777,777. One top prize remains. Chesterfield is about a 20-mile drive west from St. Louis. Many people can gamble or play games of chance without harm. However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families. If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website. MS Mike Stunson Lexington Herald-Leader Email this person Mike Stunson covers real-time news for McClatchy. He is a 2011 Western Kentucky University graduate who has previously worked at the Paducah Sun and Madisonville Messenger as a sports reporter and the Lexington Herald-Leader as a breaking news reporter. Support my work with a digital subscription
Miami Herald
06-05-2025
- General
- Miami Herald
Lottery player was ‘hopping around' with co-worker after winning jackpot on break
National Lottery player was 'hopping around' with co-worker after winning jackpot on break The woman won a $50,000 jackpot prize. Photo by Giorgio Trovato via Unsplash When a woman won a lottery jackpot while on a break from her job in Missouri, her co-worker didn't quite believe it. The woman told Missouri Lottery officials she and her co-worker used their break to buy tickets to the Crossword Plus game while at an On the Run store in St. Louis. They scratched off the tickets in her car, where she discovered she won the game's top prize. 'I was scratching, and it felt like I went to sleep almost and when I woke up I won $50,000!' she told lottery officials. Her co-worker, however, thought she was joking. The co-worker's laughter turned into a shocked expression after seeing the winning ticket. 'I was like, 'Keep laughing!'' the winner said. 'We were hopping around!' Crossword Plus costs $3 to play and launched with 10 jackpot prizes of $50,000. There are five top prizes that remain unclaimed as of May 6. Many people can gamble or play games of chance without harm. However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families. If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website. MS Mike Stunson Lexington Herald-Leader Email this person Mike Stunson covers real-time news for McClatchy. He is a 2011 Western Kentucky University graduate who has previously worked at the Paducah Sun and Madisonville Messenger as a sports reporter and the Lexington Herald-Leader as a breaking news reporter. Support my work with a digital subscription
