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Virginia man tosses winning $10 million lottery ticket on floor

Posted at 5:08 PM, Oct 13, 2016
and last updated 2016-10-13 17:08:11-04

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — If he’d known he was holding a ticket worth $10 million, George Coffroad might have been a bit more careful with it. When the Alexandria man went to his car with Virginia Lottery Scratcher tickets he’d just bought, he tossed them on the floor of the car.

It wasn’t until later at home, when he scratched his 100x the Money ticket, that he discovered he’d won the game’s $10 million top prize.

The prize is the largest ever offered by a Virginia Lottery Scratcher game. Since he’s the first player to claim that top prize, he’s now the biggest Scratcher winner in the Virginia Lottery’s history.

“I thought it was incorrect,” he later said. “It took quite a few minutes to settle in.”

gcoffroad

On Oct. 13, he received his check from the Virginia Lottery. He had a choice of taking the full $10 million over 30 years or a one-time cash option of $5,617,977 before taxes. He chose the cash option.

He bought the ticket at Landmark Towers Sunoco, 190 South Whiting Street in Alexandria. The store receives a $50,000 bonus from the Virginia Lottery for selling the winning ticket.

Mr. Coffroad, who is a small business owner, said he has no immediate plans for his winnings.

“It’s a game-changer,” he said. “It must have been my turn.”

100x the Money features prizes ranging from $30 to $10 million, including a $1 million second prize. Since this is the first top prize claimed, two more $10 million tickets remain unclaimed in this game. The odds of winning the top prize are 1 in 2,611,200. The odds of winning any prize in this game are 1 in 2.78.

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