When Alfred Cross read the numbers, he couldn’t believe his eyes — he had just scratched a 20X the Money ticket from the Virginia Lottery, and won the game’s top prize of $1 million.
“I thought, ‘Wait, that can’t be right,’” Cross, a retired postal worker, said. “I thought it was a misprint.”
The Virginia Beach man had just scratched the winning lottery ticket at the Walmart Neighborhood Market on Holland Road, according to a news release from Virginia Lottery.
Cross had a choice of taking the full $1 million prize over 30 years or a one-time cash option of $610,874 before taxes. He chose the cash option.
The store receives a $10,000 bonus from the Virginia Lottery for selling the winning ticket, according to Virginia Lottery.
Cross said he has no immediate plans for his winnings.
The 20X the Money scratcher features prizes ranging from $10 to $1 million. Cross is the first person to claim the top prize in the 20X scratcher, which means three more remain unclaimed, lottery officials said.
The chances of winning the $1 million top prize in this game are 1 in 1,224,000. The chances of winning any prize in this game are 1 in 3.51.
Cross bought his winning ticket in Virginia Beach, which received more than $28.6 million in lottery funds for K-12 education last fiscal year, according to Virginia Lottery.
For information and a complete list of lottery funds to Virginia school districts, click here.
This story was published in partnership with our sister publication, Southside Daily.
