One Texan's February is starting off with a hefty cash prize after winning big on a lottery scratch-off ticket bought for cheap.
The anonymous winner recently purchased a Texas Lottery "$1,000,000 Crossword" ticket from a Stripes Store in Pharr, TX, spending $20 on it, a press release states.
Since the person decided to withhold their identity, we don't know what they did with the chunk of change they just claimed. However, since the price is so huge, they had to go to a Texas Lottery Claim Center to get their winnings instead of visiting any gas station checkout.
So, how much of the dough will they really get to take home?
According to the Texas Lottery, the Lone Star State has a 24% tax withholding rate for lotto winnings larger than $5,000. In this situation, we estimate the person actually took home around $760,000.
The likelihood of winning anything in this game is one in 3.41. The odds are even smaller for taking home a $1M prize, as the back of the ticket says it's a one in 2,385,000 chance.
This was only the third out of eight Crossword scratch-offs with the million-dollar prize, so you better check your ticket.
If you like settling for any extra cash, the same crossword scratch-off has $20,000 prizes too. Only 19 of those have been claimed, with 32 left!
If you or someone you know is struggling with problem gambling, refer to this helpline across the United States. Support is available.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
