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Missouri man stopped for gas and walked away with a Show Me Cash jackpot

A gas stop turned into a big win!

The Show me Cash logo on a black background.
Todd Betzold

How would you like to turn a stop at the gas station into a $400,000 jackpot win?

That's exactly what happened to a lucky Missouri Lottery player who happened to stop for gas in Festus and decided to buy a Show Me Cash jackpot ticket while in the store. It was a good choice, as his ticket turned out to be the one ticket to match all the numbers in the April 20 drawing.

The winning ticket

The winning ticket was purchased at On the Run, located at 620 Truman Blvd. in Festus. The winning numbers for the April 20 draw were 12, 17, 23, 31, and 34.

Of course, the jackpot winner matched all five of the numbers to win $400,000, and he recently made his way to Lottery headquarters to claim his prize.

He explained:

I play Lotto twice every week and Show Me Cash every once in a while. I just happened to see how high (the Show Me Cash jackpot) had gotten, so I bought a $5 Quick Pick ticket.

His wife didn't believe him

After the draw took place, the lucky winner checked the winning numbers and then shared the good news with his wife and daughter. They didn't seem to believe he won!

"They said, ‘What?!’’ he laughed. “This don't ever happen to me. They wanted to see the ticket!”

He wasn't lying, though, as he brought the ticket to headquarters and successfully claimed the $400,000 prize.

Show Me Cash - how does it work?

Show Me Cash is a daily draw game for the Missouri Lottery. The drawings are held every night at 8:59 p.m. CT.

To play, you pick five numbers between 1 and 39, or you can choose the Quick Pick option as the big winner did above, and the computer generates the numbers for you. Each play costs $1, and you can add EZ Match for $1 per play.

For EZ Match, players can win prizes instantly. Match any of the EZ Match numbers to your Show Me Cash numbers and win the prize shown instantly.

The jackpot for Show Me Cash starts at $50,000 and increases by $5,000 until someone wins. There are four prize categories for Show Me Cash, ranging from $1 for matching two numbers up to the jackpot for matching all five numbers, plus 11 EZ Match prize categories.

The odds of winning the jackpot for Show Me Cash are 1 in 575,757. The overall odds of winning a prize in Show Me Cash are 1 in 8.77.

Lucky Jefferson County

Like this Show Me Cash jackpot winner, there have been some lucky players in Jefferson County, Missouri. The Lottery states in FY23, tickets purchased in Jefferson County won more than $40.2 million in total Missouri Lottery prizes.

Because of these lottery winners, the Lottery retailers received more than $4 million in commissions and bonuses, and education programs in the county also received more than $4.7 million in appropriated Lottery proceeds.

Enjoy playing the Missouri Lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.

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