27-Year-Old Strikes It Rich with $50 Scratch-Off in Homestead, Florida

Héctor Anaya Jr., a 27-year-old from Homestead, Florida, has become a millionaire after winning $1 million with a $50 scratch-off ticket from the Florida Lottery's popular "$1,000,000 A Year For Life Spectacular" game. As reported by Local 10, Anaya claimed his prize at the Lottery headquarters in Tallahassee, choosing to receive a lump sum of $640,000 before taxes.

The winning ticket was purchased at a RaceTrac gas station located at 3310 NE Eighth Street, Homestead. The store will receive a $2,000 bonus for selling the lucky ticket. Scratch-off games are a crucial component of the state's lottery system, accounting for approximately 74% of the Florida Lottery's total ticket sales during the 2023-2024 fiscal year, according to Local 10.

Since their inception, scratch-off games have awarded over $65.5 billion in prizes, created 2,283 millionaires, and contributed more than $19.8 billion to the state's Educational Enhancement Trust Fund, as noted by the television station. Anaya now joins a select group of Floridians whose lives have been transformed by a simple scratch-off ticket—a fortune many seek but few achieve.

Recently, another lucky winner, Randy Villalpando, a 24-year-old from Miami-Dade County, won a $1 million prize with a $50 scratch-off ticket from the "500X The Cash" game, offered by the Florida Lottery. Villalpando claimed his prize at the Miami District Lottery Office, opting for a one-time payment of $640,000, as stated in a press release from the state lottery on Thursday.

Earlier, a South Florida resident hit the jackpot with the Fantasy 5 lottery game, which has awarded thousands of dollars to players across the state. A winning ticket for the Florida Lottery's popular Fantasy 5 game was purchased at the Discount Food Stop, a grocery store located at 10801 NE 13th Avenue, near Biscayne Boulevard in northeast Miami-Dade County.

In early April, Nubia Fagot, a 62-year-old from Hialeah, became a millionaire after winning the $5 million grand prize in the "$5,000,000 Crossword Cash" scratch-off game, as announced by the Florida Lottery. The winning ticket was bought at a Shell gas station near NW 87th Avenue and north of Highway 836 in Doral. Although it was her husband who purchased the $20 ticket, he gave it to Nubia, who soon after received confirmation of the grand prize. The couple decided to receive a lump sum, amounting to $3,262,138 after taxes.