A Florida man is celebrating a massive windfall after turning a five-dollar scratch-off ticket into a million-dollar prize. Milton Shackleford, 45, Arcadia, claimed his winnings at the Florida Lottery’s Fort Myers District Office on November 10 following a lucky stop at a local gas station.
Shackleford purchased the winning Triple Red 777’s ticket from the Arcadia Citgo located at 335 S. Brevard Avenue. Rather than opting for an annuity, he chose to take home his prize as a one-time, lump-sum payment of $584,000.00.
The Triple Red 777’s game, which costs $5 to play, features a total prize pool of over $55 million. According to lottery officials, the game offers more than four million winning tickets, with overall odds of winning any prize sitting at 1-in-3.92.
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While Shackleford is the latest to join the club of over 4,475 millionaires created by the lottery since 1988, the organization notes that the wins extend beyond individual players. The Florida Lottery reported that 99 percent of its revenue is reinvested into the state’s economy.
This includes commissions for over 13,550 retailers and significant contributions to the Bright Futures Scholarship Program, which has helped more than one million students attend college or technical schools in Florida.
Since its inception, the lottery has generated more than $49 billion specifically for state education.
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