News writer
The first week of March is behind us and it started strong for Arkansans playing the Arkansas Lottery.
Officials from the Arkansas Lottery announced that 78 Arkansans won lottery prizes for the week of March 4-8. Several of those players took home some big wins, including a $300,000 win in Atkins.
$10 Big X instant game win
The first big winner of the week is Atkins resident Marilyn Freeman, who won $300,000 playing the $10 Big X instant game. Freeman purchased the winning ticket at Casey’s General Store #3345 on 906 N. Church St. and claimed her prize on March 8.
Freeman said Casey’s is one of her favorite lottery retailers and she normally plays the lottery weekly. On that winning day, she stopped into Casey’s and bought several tickets between $5 and $20, which included the winning Big X ticket. She didn’t even waste any time going home to scrape them, as she scraped them right inside the store and then handed the Big X ticket to the clerk to scan. The clerk told her, “You’ll have to go to Little Rock.”
That is exactly what she did, after sharing the big news with her mother and brother first. Marilyn was at the claim center the next morning to pick up her big prize. With her winnings, Marilyn said she hopes to pay off her home and buy a used car. Then she wants to “just live” and may do some traveling in the United States.
$10 100X the Win instant game win
The next winner is Audrey R. of Marked Tree, who happened to pick up one of the three remaining top prizes for the $10 instant game 100X the Win. Audrey won $250,000 and bought the winning ticket from Elm Street Liquor on 230 Elm Street in Marked Tree.
Audrey prefers the scratch-offs when she plays the lottery, which she typically does every week. She just happened to make a trip to the liquor store when she decided to purchase that winning ticket. Unlike Marilyn, Audrey waited to go home to scrape her ticket and it wasn’t until the very last row of that ticket that she revealed she had won the top prize.
She told the Arkansas Lottery, “I was hollering to my grand baby,” who said her grandmother was running through the house out of excitement.
While Audrey is feeling “very blessed” after the win, she is hoping to buy a new home with her winnings. And, of course, purchase some more tickets, as she is planning to purchase a $20 ticket next time.
$10 Rose Gold instant game win
Katherine F., a resident of Alma, claimed the top prize of $200,000 while playing the $10 Rose Gold instant game. She purchased the ticket at Kum & Go #385 on 2720 Alma Highway in Van Buren and claimed her winnings on March 7. After her big win, the Arkansas Lottery said only two more top prizes remain for the Rose Gold tickets.
$3 Extra! Extra! Crossword instant game win
Judy Thompson of Cabot turned a $3 purchase into a $75,000 win after playing the Extra! Extra! Crossword instant game. She claimed her winnings on March 6 and plans on buying a certificate of deposit and giving some money to friends and family.
March is just getting started, so we’ll probably see some more big wins coming out of that state. So, enjoy playing the Arkansas Lottery, but please remember to play responsibly.
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