Hampton Roads, Va. – Two big lottery prizes have been awarded to lucky men in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake.
Michael Worsham was on a hot streak. He’d just won $100 playing Virginia Lottery games, so he decided to use his winnings to keep on playing. The Chesapeake man bought some Right on the Money Scratcher tickets and went out to his vehicle to scratch them.
“It’s one of my favorite games,” he said.
When he scratched the second of those tickets, he saw something he’d never seen before.
“I triple-taked,” he said. “I couldn’t believe it.”
The ticket had won the game’s $2.5 million top prize.
He bought the ticket at the 7-Eleven at 1025A North Eden Way in Chesapeake. The store receives a $10,000 bonus from the Virginia Lottery for selling the winning ticket.
Mr. Worsham, owner of Worsham Plumbing, had a choice of taking the full $2.5 million in annual payments over 25 years or a one-time cash option of $1,437,500 before taxes. He chose the cash option. He said he hopes to use his winnings for college for his children.
Right on the Money features prizes ranging from $20 up to $2.5 million. This is the fifth top-prize ticket claimed in Right on the Money, which means one top-prize ticket remains unclaimed. The game also offers a second prize of $1 million.
Anthony Buffa also struck it big. The Virginia Beach man won the top prize in the Virginia Lottery’s Cash King Scratcher game.
It happened with a ticket he bought at K-Mart on 1205 Fordham Drive in Virginia Beach.
The excitement of winning briefly turned to concern when he tried to show his disbelieving daughter that he really had won. He said he searched in his bag for the million-dollar ticket and couldn’t find it. Fortunately, his daughter went out to his car and found the ticket inside.
Mr. Buffa had the choice of taking the full $1 million prize over 30 years or a one-time cash option of $537,393 before taxes. He chose the cash option. The store received a $10,000 bonus from the Lottery for selling the winning ticket.
Cash King is one of dozens of Scratcher games available from the Virginia Lottery. It features prizes ranging from $10 up to $1,000,000. This is the first top prize claimed in this game, which means two million-dollar prizes have yet to be claimed.
