A Florida couple took home the grand prize after purchasing a scratch-off ticket.
The Florida Lottery said John Stanhill, 46, purchased a ticket to play the 500X THE CASH scratch-off game at a Duval Exxon on Third Street North in Jacksonville. The gas station received a $2,000 bonus commission for selling the winning ticket.
Stanhill claimed the $1 million prize from the lottery's headquarters in Tallahassee, where he chose to receive his winnings as a one-time, lump-sum payment of $640,000.
Stanhill also said the win came at a good time for him and his wife, Victoria Oakley—it happened just three weeks before their first baby was due.
"We won the lottery—and then we won the lottery again with our beautiful, healthy baby boy!” Oakley said. “All in three weeks’ time!"
“Our lottery win has been such a huge relief for us. We’ve been able to fully focus on being new parents by putting our financial worries at ease,” the couple told the Florida Lottery. “We were able to start a college fund for our baby and plan on paying off student loans. We are over the moon with everything that’s happened!"
This week, an unlikely partnership between a sixth-grade student and a barbecue restaurant brought Thanksgiving dinner to hundreds of hurricane victims across Pasco County.
