A Kentucky man has revealed his secret to winning the lottery.
Michael Perry was on his way to pick up his cousin in Louisville when he stopped at a Hop Shop in Verona and purchased two Wild Cash 100X scratch-off tickets for $10 each.
The first ticket wasn’t a winner.
“But when I scratched off the second ticket I couldn’t believe my eyes – $250,000! Anytime I buy them I always buy two at a time,” Perry revealed to lottery officials, per local ABC affiliate WHAS.
With a top prize of $250,000, Wild Cash 100X has players match their numbers to the winning numbers, with the chance to win additional prize money by scratching five bonus spots.
Perry immediately called his wife after scratching the winning ticket to reveal a win in every possible spot on the card.
“I was at work, and I knew he was on his way down to Louisville,” Felicia Perry told lottery officials. “He called me so I answered, and he said, ‘Can you talk? You’re going to think I’m joking with you, but I promise I’m not. I just hit $250,000 on a ticket. Can you get off from work and go to the lottery office with me?’”
“I cried a little bit when I saw the ticket,” she continued. “This is literally going to change everything for us.”
The couple immediately went to the Kentucky Lottery office where they claimed their lump sum of $180,000 after taxes.
“The first thing that crossed my mind was paying off my house. It’s an amazing feeling to know that I can do that now,” Perry told lottery officials.
“We’re definitely going to celebrate, and I’m sure everyone will be happy for us.”
The Verona Hop Shop will receive a $2,500 bonus for selling the winning ticket.
Perry became the first to win the top prize on the Wild Cash 100X game after it launched in June. Two of the game’s three top prizes remain.
The Kentucky resident becomes the latest to claim a big prize from a scratch-off after an Illinois man recently won big on his second-favorite game.
