The Florida Lottery recently announced that Zakaria Beneddi, of Panama City, claimed a $2 million top prize from the Payday Bonus scratch-off game.
The Bay County man chose to receive his winnings as a one-time, lump-sum payment of $1,370,000.
The North Florida winner purchased his winning ticket from Lagoon Mart, located at 7807 N. Lagoon Drive in Panama City Beach. The retailer received a $4,000 bonus commission for selling the winning scratch-off ticket.
He claimed his winning prize at the Lottery’s Pensacola District Office.
For $10, the PAYDAY BONUS scratch-off game offers more than $132 million in cash prizes, including eight top prizes of $2 million. There is one top prize remaining according to the Florida Lottery.
The game’s overall odds of winning are 1-in-4.40.
Scratch-off games are an important part of the Lottery’s portfolio of games, comprising approximately 74 percent of ticket sales in fiscal year 2023-2024. Additionally, since inception, scratch-off games have awarded more than $65.5 billion in prizes, created 2,283 millionaires, and generated more than $19.80 billion for the state’s Educational Enhancement Trust Fund (EETF).
The Florida Lottery is responsible for contributing more than $48 billion to enhance education and sending more than 983,000 students to college through the Bright Futures Scholarship Program. The Florida Lottery reinvests 99 percent of its revenue into Florida’s economy through prize payouts, commissions to more than 13,600 Lottery retailers, and transfers to education. Since 1988, Florida Lottery games have paid over $98.6 billion in prizes and created more than 4,200 millionaires.
