Florida man wins $500k on scratchcard

Thursday April 7^th 2011

A man from Florida has won half a million dollars on a lottery scratchcard. Marc Perrotta went to the Florida Lottery’s headquarters in Tallahassee today to collect his winnings. The 31-year old literally struck gold after spending $20 on a Gold Rush scratch-off game which he bought at an off-licence on Bee Ridge Road in Sarasota.

Despite facing odds of one in 2,520,000, Mr Perrotta managed to scoop one of the game’s jackpot prizes.

The win comes just a matter of days after mother-of-three Amanda Barber won the same amount, again on a scratchcard, a few hundred miles away in North Carolina.

Ms Barber, a waitress from Lexington, said she simply "had a feeling that day" and decided to chance her luck by buying a lottery instant scratch-off.

Richard Falls, a lottery player from Madison Heights, Virginia, said he felt "elated" after picking up $150,000 with a Blackjack Showdown instant ticket last week.

As Mr Falls claimed the game’s fourth and final top prize, it has now been closed.

Written by Samantha Jones

Written by Chris Brown

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