‘Speechless’: Sandusky woman wins $15M prize from scratch-off ticket

SANDUSKY, Ohio (WJW) – A Sandusky woman told lottery officials she was speechless after winning the $15 million jackpot from a recently purchased scratch-off ticket.

Jeanne bought the winning ticket for Ohio Lottery ‘s 50th Anniversary scratch-off game at the FriendShip Kitchen on Hayes Avenue in Sandusky.

“I scratched it off and none of the numbers matched because I don’t scratch all the numbers. I scratched like maybe 10 or 12 and I usually know if it’s a winner or not. So, nothing matched, and I scanned it and it said, ‘winner, see clerk’,” Jeanne told lottery officials.

But after taking the ticket to the counter, Jeanne said the store clerk nearly fell to the floor. It turns out Jeanne had won $600,000 a year for 25 years.

“We both just cried,” Jeanne told lottery officials. “There were people in line looking at me like I lost my mind.”

She decided to take the cash option of $7.5 million. After state and federal taxes, according to Ohio Lottery , she will receive $5.4 million.

That’s not the only luck Jeanne has found this year. Back in February, lottery officials say she was one of 150 people to win the grand prize for Ohio Lottery’s Fun Turns 50 Second Chance Promotion, meaning she will get $3,500 and will join the other winners at a celebration at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Jeanne credits her late father with all of the recent good luck.

“The number that the winning was on was my father’s, the year he was born, the 28th. That meant a lot to me,” she told lottery officials. “He’s been gone quite a while, but I guess he was up there having the last laugh.”

With the winnings, Jeanne plans to buy a house in Florida and pay off her best friend’s mortgage.

According to Ohio Lottery , there are still two top prizes available for the 50th Anniversary scratch-off game. Learn more about it here.

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