COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A southern Ohio man won a $2 million top prize after purchasing a Royal Riches scratch-off ticket in Columbus’ Arena District, the Ohio Lottery announced.
The winner, identified only as “J. from Ironton,” bought the $30 ticket on Oct. 22 at Lucky Choice, located at 577 W. Nationwide Blvd., across from Lower.com Field. According to a news release from the Ohio Lottery, J. is a regular lottery player who has previously won smaller prizes with scratch-off and Pick 3 tickets.
J. told lottery officials that he often uses a “top-secret family formula” to select numbers, based on notes tracking previous wins. When he uncovered the winning numbers on his scratch-off ticket, he said his first reaction was to question if the win was real. He confirmed the prize after examining the ticket with a magnifying glass and sending a photo to a family member.
Winners of the Royal Riches top prize can choose between an annuity of $80,000 a year for 25 years, totaling $2 million, or a lump-sum cash option. J. chose the cash payout, which amounts to $728,750 after taxes.
J. said he plans to share his winnings with relatives and his church, and said he also intends to purchase a new vehicle.
As of Nov. 3, four top prizes remain for the Royal Riches scratch-off, along with 10 second-tier $50,000 prizes. The overall odds of winning any prize are 1 in 3.95, according to the lottery.
Other major prizes remaining for Royal Riches include:
– $10,000: 100 prizes remaining
– $5,000: 213 prizes remaining
– $1,000: 4,623 prizes remaining
– $300: 28,721 prizes remaining
– $100: 114,091 prizes remaining
– $60: 556,616 prizes remaining
The Ohio Lottery also reported at least two other big wins from tickets sold at Lucky Choice this year. In May, a $543,000 Rolling Cash 5 jackpot was won there, and in October, a Beach City woman claimed $100,000 on another Rolling Cash 5 ticket.
Since its inception in 1974, the Ohio Lottery has contributed more than $34 billion to education.