Drudging through medical appointments turned into a “dream” for one Buckeye State couple, lottery officials said last week.
A Carrollton, Ohio, man, who has not been publicly named, had just finished taking his wife to a series of cancer treatment appointments when he stopped at a convenience store on the way home, the Ohio Lottery said in a statement on Wednesday, Aug. 27.
He bought a few $5 scratch-off tickets, including the last Best of 7’s ticket left in the bin.
When he got home, he was stunned to find out that the ticket was a top prize winner worth $500,000. After taxes, he’ll receive about $360,000.
“I still can’t believe it,” the man said in the lottery’s statement. “I still think it’s a dream!”
Excited, he rushed to tell his wife, but she didn’t believe him at first.
“She looked at me funny and said, ‘Did you fall?’ I said, ‘No, I’m in shock! I think I won half a million dollars!’ ” he recalled.
She finally believed him after he scanned the ticket with the Ohio Lottery app and showed her the results.
The man said he has a strategy when it comes to choosing tickets: “I like the end of the roll. I’ll buy in the middle too, but I’ve always liked the end of the roll best.”
The winning ticket was sold at Bellstore #146 in Malvern.
The man told officials that winning the prize feels like a blessing since the family has been struggling with high medical bills for his wife’s cancer treatment. Now, he said, those bills can be covered.
When she recovers, he hopes to plan something special for them to enjoy together.
