OHIO — A woman from Columbus is $500,000 richer after purchasing a winning Ohio Lottery scratch-off ticket during a lunch outing in Westerville.
According to the Ohio Lottery, the woman visited Bar Five Eleven, located at 511 Lazelle Road, where she overheard a bartender telling another customer that the pull tab machine had just been refilled with new tickets.
The woman decided to try her luck and initially won $599. She then purchased additional scratch-off tickets, including one $5 ticket, one $10 ticket and two $20 tickets.
While playing the tickets, she said she realized she may have won a large prize.
“I saw a ‘5’ and a bunch of zeroes, but it didn’t sink in,” she said. After scanning the ticket, she continued to question the result, thinking, “Is this real? Am I dreaming?”
The winning ticket was part of the “Lucky No. 7” scratch-off game.
After federal and state taxes totaling 26.75%, lottery officials said she will receive $366,250.
The winner said she has always dreamed of living by the water and that the prize may allow her to do so. She also said the win came at an important time in her life.
“I have been through a lot of changes in my life recently and now I can start making my dreams come true,” she said.
The Ohio Lottery said the “Lucky No. 7” $5 scratch-off game has overall odds of 1 in 3.54, and as of April 2, two top prizes remain.
Since 1974, the Ohio Lottery has contributed more than $34 billion to education across the state.
