News writer
A Virginia man had a million reasons to celebrate — but he decided to keep it a secret, at least for a little while. Patrick Lash knew he had won $1 million playing Powerball, but rather than rushing to share the news, he waited a day to give his wife the ultimate birthday surprise.
After all, what better way to mark the occasion than with a life-changing jackpot? Now, the Fredericksburg couple is planning their next big move after claiming their big prize.
A birthday surprise
A man in Virginia knew he won $1 million during the January 13 Powerball drawing. However, he decided to hold off on telling his wife about the big win.
Seems odd, right? Well, not so much in this case. Her birthday was the following day, so he wanted to surprise her with the good news on her big day.
Patrick Lash bought the winning ticket from Wegmans, located at 2281 Carl D. Silver Parkway in Fredericksburg. For selling the winning ticket, Wegmans will receive a $10,000 bonus from the Virginia Lottery.
For that January 13 drawing, the winning white ball numbers were 4, 6, 16, 39, and 66, and the Powerball number was 9. Lash purchased an Easy Pick ticket and matched the five winning white ball numbers but missed the Powerball number to win the $1 million prize.
He recently made his way to lottery headquarters to claim his prize and told lottery officials, “We're still in shock. It feels great!”
Now that the happy retired couple has the winnings in hand, they told lottery officials they plan on buying a home closer to their daughter, who lives in another state.
The odds of winning the jackpot in Powerball are 1 in 292.2 million. The overall odds of winning any Powerball prize are 1 in 25.
A big win ends one scratcher game
With one big win, lottery officials are saying goodbye to the Money Multiplier instant ticket. Denise Freeman knew she had a winning Money Multiplier ticket because she noticed the code, but she didn't know she won the top prize on the ticket.
Freeman scanned the ticket using the Virginia Lottery app and confirmed how much she won, which happened to be $500,000. She purchased the winning ticket at BJ's, located at 110 S. Van Dorn Street in Alexandria.
This happened to be the third and final top prize claimed in the game. That means the game will now be closed, as the Virginia Lottery ends scratcher games after the last available top prize is claimed.
Freeman recently made her way to lottery headquarters to claim her prize, telling lottery officials she was shocked after seeing she won the top prize. She is nearing retirement and told officials that these winnings will come in handy.
Grocery shopping surprise
Miranda Robbins was out grocery shopping when she decided to purchase a Lincoln scratcher. After finishing up shopping, she was sitting in the car waiting for her husband, so she decided to scratch the ticket.
That lack of patience paid off, as Robbins soon discovered she had a winning ticket. She won the top prize for that ticket — $100,000.
Robbins headed to lottery headquarters to claim her prize and told lottery officials she was still in shock.
Lincoln is a $5 scratcher game from the Virginia Lottery. The prizes range from $5 up to the top prize of $100,000. Robbins was the first winner to claim one of the top prizes, which means there are still three more to be claimed.
The odds of winning the top prize in the Lincoln game are 1 in 765,000. The overall odds of winning any prize in the game are 1 in 3.9.
Enjoy playing the Virginia Lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.
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