Florida Lottery winner “can’t stop smiling”
Monday December 20th 2010A 31-year-old Florida man who won a quarter of a million dollars on an instant scratchcard game has told lottery organisers that he just can’t stop smiling. Virgil Gentry Pelham III, of Jacksonville, bought his scratchcard at a Shell petrol station on Hodges Boulevard in the city on Thursday evening. And apparently, after discovering his good fortune, he had something of a sleepless night until he passed the winning ticket over to organisers the following morning.
Although he hasn’t yet decided what to do with the winnings, Mr Pelham, said he was “absolutely thrilled” with the win.
After spending just $5 on the scratchcard, Mr Pelham managed to uncover one of only four $250,000 jackpot prizes. The new scratch-off game, called Black, was only released on November 29 and the remaining three jackpot lotto tickets are still out there. The game’s total prize fund is more than $21million.
According to Florida Lottery organisers, people are able to purchase instant scratchcards from more than 13,000 retailers across the state. Last year the games brought in almost $400million which was put towards Florida’s Educational Enhancement Trust Fund.