These players won big with lottery tickets they received as gifts

What's the best present someone ever gave you? Maybe it was a gaming console, or a luxury handbag, or you were one of those lucky people who received a car with a big red bow on top, like in the commercials.

But has anyone ever given you a present that made you a millionaire? Lottery tickets are popular gifts during the holidays, and while most of them payout nothing, occasionally someone wins a jackpot bigger than any present Santa Claus could get down the chimney.

When it comes to giving, they say it's the thought that counts, but the thought means a little more when it comes attached to a million dollars. These are true stories of lottery winners who received their tickets as a gift.

Parent-teacher jackpot

We've all had that one special teacher who nurtured and inspired us, helping us see the best in ourselves. And while we may have given that teacher a thoughtful gift at the end of the year, did we ever consider giving them half a million dollars?

While it's typical at the end of a school year to hand out small gifts such as Starbucks gift cards and bouquets of flowers, one fortunate educator in New Jersey found herself significantly richer after receiving a winning lottery ticket from one of her students' parents.

It was the end of the 2025 school year, and a New Jersey teacher, who chose to remain anonymous, says she was given a stack of instant-win lottery tickets as a present. Since they weren't a regular lottery player, the teacher set them aside in her car and forgot about them until well into the summer. The player told the New Jersey Lottery:

I had a stack of cards as gifts, and I had forgotten I left them there. One morning, I went out to the car and thought that I'd see if I won any gas money.

Hoping to win at least a small prize, the teacher scratched the first few tickets and came up empty, but then they uncovered a $10 "The Shore Thing" scratch-off and realized they had won the top prize of $500,000.

While staring down at the ticket in their hand, the teacher realized they had been driving around with the equivalent of six figures in cash in their car for weeks without even knowing it. The winner admitted to state officials while claiming their prize at a lottery office:

It probably wasn't smart of me [to leave the tickets in the car]. I've been driving around with my puppy. He could've eaten them.

Fortunately, the puppy didn't turn her winning ticket into puppy chow, and she received her check.

In fact, the teacher benefited in multiple ways from their win. Since 30 cents of every dollar spent on the lottery is directed toward paying public employee pensions, including teachers', the winning ticket helped pay for her retirement, too.

"I get them as gifts, but I never imagined," she told officials. "For me, this is life-changing."

Merry Chri$tma$

Husbands are notorious for being poor gift givers. Spend some time searching the internet, and you'll find wives who reported receiving fishing reels, even though they don't fish, clothes that are out of fashion and not in their size, or, from particularly forgetful husbands, nothing at all.

However, one Iowa husband made up for a lifetime of bad gift giving with one simple present, a winning lottery ticket. Darla Harper, who lives in New Hampton, IA, told state lottery officials that her husband gave her a $20 “Winter Winnings” instant win ticket as a Christmas present.

Unlike the New Jersey teacher, 61-year-old Darla didn't wait to uncover her ticket, and her eyes went wide when she saw that she had won $250,000. The 61-year-old Carpenter told lottery officials:

“Dreams do happen, and it only takes one ticket. I just kept believing maybe one day that will be me.”

Darla and her husband were so excited by their big win that they couldn't sleep the entire night, and they raced to the state lottery office as soon as it opened the next day to claim their big prize.

“I still don't think it hit, but now I've got my picture and the check, and it's amazing,” she said.

Darla works in a manufacturing facility. She told officials that she plans to retire in a few years, and the lottery win will help provide a safety net for her golden years. Harper explained:

It just gives me more of a sense of security right now, knowing I have something to fall back on if something happens.

Best birthday ever

Many people have blown out the candles on their birthday cake and wished for a million dollars, only to receive a $20 check from their grandmother instead. However, for one Massachusetts man, his wishes really did come true when he opened a winning lottery ticket for his birthday.

The player, who chose to remain anonymous, was celebrating with friends when he was given a $50 "Lifetime Millions" scratch-off game, which was only the second $50 game ever released by the Massachusetts Lottery.

He uncovered the ticket and saw that he had won the game's top prize of $1 million a year for life, which meant he had not only received an incredible present for this birthday, but for every one after it as well.

To protect his anonymity, the man collected his winnings through a trust called “Merjon Tangovan Nominee Trust of Boston.” Greg Racki, a representative of the trust, collected the money on behalf of the winner and stated the blindingly obvious when he stated that this was the best birthday present they had ever received.

He added that the lucky winner planned to buy a new car, travel, and help out his family with his new fortune.

Rather than waiting for annual payouts, the birthday boy chose to receive his money as a single lump sum payment, collecting a pre-tax check for $15.4 million. According to lottery officials, that amount should drop to just under $11 million after he pays state and federal taxes.

Happy New Year!

There are many different ways to celebrate the start of a new year. Some people like to kick off a new diet and exercise routine, while others might pick up a new hobby or skill, such as learning a musical instrument or a foreign language.

However, most people can probably agree that the best way to start a new year is by becoming a multi-millionaire. This dream came true for Pamela V of Washington, DC, in 2024, after her husband gave her a Powerball ticket for Christmas.

While they didn't win the big jackpot, they still had a reason to pop champagne bottles after walking away with enough money to change their lives forever. They correctly guessed all five white numbers (28, 35, 41, 47, 60), but they just missed the red Powerball number.

Usually, this would make their ticket worth $1 million, but by adding the Power Play Multiplier, they doubled their winnings and cashed in for $2 million and an extra Merry Christmas.

Pamela told lottery officials that she had some very practical uses for the money in mind. She stated:

We are elated to find out we won; it's life-changing. We have kids in college, so this will definitely help with college tuition.

Pamela added that the couple valued securing their future, and they planned to save and invest the majority of their prize. However, she also told officials she was planning to have some fun with the money, and she and her husband are planning a vacation for their entire family to the Caribbean.

Father of the year

Connecticut resident and Vietnam veteran Burton Chase always worked hard to take care of his family, and his two daughters repaid his love by never forgetting to show him their appreciation on Father's Day.

However, none of them knew just how much appreciation Chase was set to receive in 2024, when one of his daughters, who lived in Wisconsin, sent him a Father's Day card that included a $20 "Wisconsin Winnings" instant-win lottery ticket.

Chase scratched the ticket and was shocked to see that he had won the game's top prize of $200,000. He called both of his daughters to share the good news, but they thought he had to be joking, and it wasn't until he sent them a photo of the winning ticket that they believed his big win.

The only tricky part of the whole business was that Chase had to travel to Wisconsin to collect his money. He planned a trip for the weekend of July 19, which is when the daughter who sent him the ticket celebrated her 50th birthday.

He also flew out his other daughter and her husband from North Carolina, so they could all celebrate together.

Unfortunately, July 19, 2024, was an unlucky day to fly because that was the date of the infamous “Blue screen of death” catastrophe, in which a bad software update to the Windows operating system caused computer systems around the world to crash, including those used by the airlines.

However, showing the same tenacity that helped him in the military, Chase eventually found his way to Wisconsin, collected his money, and enjoyed a wonderful birthday weekend with his family.

Chase told lottery officials that he planned to use the money for a family vacation to the Caribbean islands of Turks and Caicos and that he would use the rest of the prize to help support his family.