Florida Man Wins $15M from Scratcher, Takes $9M Lump-Sum Payment

The Florida Lottery announced a lucky local as the recipient of an eight-figure prize from one of its scratch-off games. The money the winner actually took, however, was much less since he made the somewhat divisive, if usual, decision to go with the lump-sum option.

The Man Chose the Lump-Sum Payment

A few days ago, the Florida Lottery confirmed a 65-year-old man by the name of Curtis McDugald as the recipient of a $15 million top prize from one of the lottery’s scratch-off games. The Okeechobee resident secured this mouth-watering sum from a $15,000,000 GOLD RUSH MULTIPLIER scratch-off ticket he bought locally.

According to the Florida Lottery, McDugald beat odds of 1 in 5,476,290 to win his prize. The overall odds of winning any prize from the $15,000,000 GOLD RUSH MULTIPLIER game are 1 in 2.60.

The winning ticket was purchased from Okeechobee City Marathon, located at 118 S. Parrott Avenue in Okeechobee, lottery officials said.

McDugald visited the Florida Lottery HQ in Tallahassee on September 29 to claim his winnings. Like many other lottery players, he chose to go with the one-time, lump-sum payment, thus taking home $8,968,000 before taxes.

This Was the Final $15M Prize in the Game

For context, $15,000,000 GOLD RUSH MULTIPLIER is a $30 scratch-off game that provides players with a shot at a top prize of $15 million. The ticket line was launched in September 2024 and featured four top prizes, as well as six smaller prizes of $1 million.

The official site of the Florida Lottery shows that the prize won by McDugald was the final top prize in the game. However, there is still a single $1 million prize remaining, as well as a single $100,000 prize.

Player Risks a Prison Sentence After Stealing Ticket

While McDugald returned home as Florida’s latest millionaire, another lottery “winner” did not have the same luck. The reason was that the man in question tried to cash in a stolen ticket and pretend that he was the original buyer. The man later changed his story, saying that the ticket was actually his uncle’s, before finally admitting that it was stolen.

In a worst-case scenario, the man could serve a prison sentence.

On a more positive note, a player at the Seminole Classic Casino in Hollywood, Florida, was recently able to turn a $2.20 wager on a $0.05 denomination into a $157,744.52 jackpot. The fortunate individual was enjoying one of Aristocrat’s Dragon Link Golden Century slot machines.