Show-Me State Times

A Missouri Lottery player in Jasper County recently experienced a stroke of luck with a Scratchers ticket. The winner, who had never tried the $50 games before, decided to take a chance on a "500X" Scratchers ticket purchased at Casey's located at 1254 E. Central St. in Oronogo.

“I’ve never played the $50 games before so I thought, ‘Why not?’” said the winner.

Upon scratching off the ticket in his car, he discovered he had won one of the game's $50,000 prizes. The unexpected win almost overwhelmed him. “I went out there and scratched it off and almost passed out!” he joked.

The first person he called was his wife, who reacted emotionally to the news. “It was just tears,” he shared. “It was just nice to be able to pay off some stuff that we had been wanting to pay off.”

The "500X" game is among three $50 Scratchers options currently available from the Missouri Lottery. To date, players have collectively won over $186.7 million playing this game, with an additional $70.9 million still up for grabs, including a top prize of $5 million and fifteen more prizes worth $50,000 each.

In Jasper County alone last fiscal year, lottery players claimed over $15 million in Missouri Lottery prizes. Retailers benefited too, receiving more than $1.4 million in commissions and bonuses while local education programs were bolstered by over $3.5 million from appropriated lottery proceeds.