‘It’s unbelievable;’ Ohio woman wins $15 million top prize with 50th Anniversary scratch-off

SANDUSKY, Ohio — An Ohio woman won $15 million with an Ohio Lottery 50th Anniversary scratch-off ticket.

Jeanne, of Sandusky, won $600,000 a year for 25 years, which totals out to $15 million. She chose the cash option of $7.5 million.

After mandatory state and federal taxes totaling 28%, Jeanne will take home $5.4 million.

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“I was speechless,” Jeanne said. “What I kept thinking is I’m just going to wake up. It’s not real.”

The winning ticket was sold at Friendship #83, located on Hayes Avenue in Sandusky.

Jeanne also separately won the grand prize for the Ohio Lottery’s Fun Turns 50 Second Chance Promotion during the first promotion’s drawing on Feb. 28, 2024.

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“It’s unbelievable,” Jeanne said.

She, along with 149 other grand prize winners will receive $3,500 and an invitation for two to the Ohio Lottery’s exclusive celebratory event at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio in September.

Jeanne said she is thinking of her father as she takes in all of the good luck she’s been having.

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“My dad always told me, ‘If it wasn’t for bad luck Jeanne, you’d have no luck at all’,” she said. “And it’s true. The number that the winning was on was my father’s, the year he was born, the 28th. That meant a lot to me. He’s been gone quite a while, but I guess he was up there having the last laugh.”

Jeanne plans to pay off the mortgage of her best friend and buy a house in Florida.

The Ohio Lottery’s 50th Anniversary is a $50 scratch-off with a top prize of $600,000 a year for 25 years. As of June 12, there are two remaining top prizes in the game for the 50th Anniversary.

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