A woman from Carrollton, Virginia, became an instant millionaire after accidentally scratching the wrong lottery ticket.
Kelly Lindsey had planned to purchase her usual scratcher from the Virginia Lottery, but a store clerk mistakenly gave her a different ticket — the “Money Blitz” game. Frustrated at first, Lindsey decided to scratch it anyway while sitting in her car.
To her shock, the ticket revealed a $2 million top prize.“And I got over not being happy about it!” Lindsey joked when she claimed her winnings.She chose to take a lump sum payout of $1.25 million instead of receiving the full $2 million spread over 30 years.Lindsey’s win marked the second top prize claimed in the Money Blitz game. One top prize still remains unclaimed.
According to the Virginia Lottery, the odds of winning the $2 million prize are 1 in 1,142,400. Overall odds of winning any prize in the game are 1 in 3.29.
Proceeds from the Virginia Lottery help fund public education. In 2023, the lottery contributed over $934 million to K-12 schools — about 10% of the state’s education budget. Lindsey’s home county, Isle of Wight, received $3.7 million from those funds.
Lottery winnings are treated as regular income and are subject to taxes. Winners of more than $5,000 automatically have 28% withheld for federal taxes. Additional state taxes may apply, depending on where the ticket was bought and where the winner lives.Some states, like Florida and Texas, don’t tax lottery prizes, but Virginia does. Winners receive a Form W-2G to report their earnings and taxes withheld.
