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Virginia Truck Driver Wins $100,000 From $5 Lottery Ticket Bought At a Local Store

Clements, known for his occasional indulgence in scratchers purchased from various stores, selected the Ca$h Corners Crossword ticket on a whim.

BY KOMAL BANCHHOR

PUBLISHED FEB 9, 2024

Powerball tickets await players at Cumberland Farms | Getty Images | Photo by William Thomas Cain

Luck can visit you in unexpected moments, and for Zachary Clements, a truck driver from Buena Vista, Virginia, it came in the form of a forgotten lottery ticket. The lottery turned out to be a golden ticket to a six-figure windfall. Clements discovered his $100,000 win on a Ca$h Corners Crossword scratch-off ticket purchased casually from Sheltman’s Gas N Grocery, a local convenience store, per Fox Business.

COver Image Source: Andrew Spear — Lottery | Pexels | Andrew Spear

Clements, known for his occasional indulgence in scratchers purchased from various stores, selected the Ca$h Corners Crossword ticket on a whim. Little did he know that this seemingly routine purchase would lead to a life-changing moment. After acquiring the ticket for $5, he tossed it onto his car seat, unaware of the potential fortune it held.

Days passed, and the ticket lay forgotten until curiosity prompted Clements to scratch it. As fate would have it, he unveiled the coveted $100,000 prize to his utter disbelief. "I was pretty excited," Clements shared. The Ca$h Corners Crossword game offers enticing prizes ranging from $5 to $100,000. With only one top prize claimed thus far, the game holds promise for future participants, with five more top prizes awaiting discovery.

Learn from the new millionnaire on how to achieve the balance of earning so much yet being down to earth|PexelsPhoto by Olia Danilevich — Representative image | Pexels | Photo by Olia Danilevich

However, the odds of clinching the top prize are undeniably slim, standing at 1 in 1,224,000. The Virginia Lottery, which channels all profits towards K-12 education, serves as a vital source of funding for communities across the state. In Buena Vista alone, lottery funds exceeded $900,000 for K-12 education in the previous fiscal year, highlighting the tangible benefits that stem from these chance windfalls.

In FY 2023, the Virginia Lottery contributed over $867 million to K-12 education, constituting a significant portion of the state's education budget. Such contributions play a crucial role in supporting educational initiatives, enriching the learning experiences of students statewide.

Last month, Markietta Robertson, a resident of Prince George's County, Maryland, turned her ordinary license plate into a ticket to fortune. After consistently using her license plate numbers as her lottery numbers, Robertson hit the jackpot in the Maryland Lottery’s Pick 5 game, walking away with a whopping $50,000.

Robertson’s moment of triumph arrived on January 12, when the numbers she had been playing–inspired by her car's license plate–were drawn in the Pick 5 game. Pick 5, the game that brought fortune to the Robertsons is a popular draw in the Maryland Lottery. It holds drawings twice daily from Monday to Friday, with an additional draw on weekends. The odds of winning the Pick 5 straight bet, as Robertson did, stand at 1 in 100,000, making her win all the more remarkable.

Another woman from Canton, Michigan, got the shock of her life when she won the mega $3 million prize. Reagan Blanton, 52, bought her winning ticket online and matched the five white balls in the October 6 Mega Millions draw. She matched the five white balls: 12-24-46-57-66 to win $1 million. However, the lucky drawer’s prize was up for a ‘Megaplier’ which is eligible for non-jackpot prizes. Thus, her final prize was multiplied three times for a total of $3 million, according to the Michigan Lottery Connect.