Two Pinellas County men recently each won $1 million prizes playing two different Florida Lottery scratch-off games.
One of the Central Florida winners played a $20 scratch-off game, and the other winner played a $50 scratch-off.
The Florida Lottery recently announced that Matthew White, of Clearwater, claimed a $1 million prize from the $1,000,000 A Year For Life Spectacular scratch-off game at Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee. He chose to receive his winnings as a one-time, lump-sum payment of $640,000.
White purchased his winning ticket from 7-Eleven, located at 2030 Gulf to Bay Boulevard in Clearwater. The retailer received a $2,000 bonus commission for selling the winning scratch-off ticket.
The Florida Lottery also recently announced that Duong Nguyen, of Pinellas Park, claimed a $1 million prize from the $20 Gold Rush Limited scratch-off game at the Lottery’s Tampa District Office. He chose to receive his winnings as a one-time, lump-sum payment of $795,000.
Nguyen purchased his winning ticket from Bolsa Oriental Market, located at 8730 49th Street North Suite 5 in Pinellas Park. The retailer received a $2,000 bonus commission for selling the winning scratch-off ticket.
The $50 scratch-off game, $1,000,000 A Year For Life Spectacular, features two top prizes of $1 million a year for life and 234 prizes of $1 million. Additionally, this ticket is filled with more than $1.6 billion in cash prizes. There are zero top prizes remaining and 55 $1 million prizes remaining according to the Florida Lottery. The game’s overall odds of winning are 1-in-4.50.
The $20 Scratch-Off game, Gold Rush Limited, launched in September 2021 and features 32 top prizes of $5 million and 100 prizes of $1 million. Additionally, this ticket is filled with over 33,000 prizes of $1,000 to $100,000. There is one top prize remaining and seven $1 million prizes remaining according to the Florida Lottery. The game’s overall odds of winning are 1-in-2.65.
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.
