An Ocala man became a millionaire Wednesday, thanks to a winning Florida Lottery ticket.
Navid Ali, 18, claimed a $1 million prize from the $15 million Gold Rush Special Edition Scratch-Off game at Florida Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee. He chose to receive his winnings as a one-time, lump-sum payment of $700,000.
Ali purchased his winning ticket from Speedy Foods, located at 4881 NE 36th Ave. in Ocala. The retailer will receive a $2,000 bonus commission for selling the winning Scratch-Off ticket.
The $30 Gold Rush Special Edition game launched in February and features six top prizes of $15 million – the largest Scratch-Off top prize offered by the Florida Lottery. The game also offers 24 prizes of $1 million. The game’s overall odds of winning are 1-in-2.60.
Scratch-Offs are an important part of the Lottery’s portfolio of games, generating more than $871 million for the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund fiscal year 2017-18, and comprising approximately 69 percent of ticket sales.
The Florida Lottery is responsible for contributing more than $35 billion to education and sending more than 808,000 students to college through the Bright Futures Scholarship Program. The Florida Lottery reinvests 98 percent of its revenue back into Florida’s economy through prize payouts, commissions to more than 13,000 Florida retailers and transfers to education.
Since 1988, Florida Lottery games have paid more than $61.2 billion in prizes and made more than 2,000 people millionaires. For more information, please visit www.flalottery.com.