POLK COUNTY, Fla. — A Florida man took home the top prize after he bought a $5 scratch-off ticket from a Polk County grocery store.
The Florida Lottery said Carlos Cole, Sr., 53, bought a ticket for the Seven Figures scratch-off game and managed to win the $1 million prize.
Cole chose to receive his winnings as a one-time, lump-sum payment of $695,000 at the lottery's headquarters in Tallahassee.
Cole purchased the ticket from a Publix located on Cypress Gardens Boulevard in Winter Haven. The grocery store received a $2,000 bonus commission for selling the winning ticket.
According to the Florida Lottery, the odds of winning the game are 1 in 3.77.
Pasco County woman trying to rebuild mobile home after hurricanes
"I cried, of course, because I've worked very hard getting it nice, which has been difficult for me since I lost my husband and being alone,” Kelly Welty said.
Welty's mobile home lost its roof during Hurricane Milton. She said it was the only one in the Buena Vista community to get totaled by a tornado.
