Norfolk longshoreman Justin Johnson won a $100,000 scratcher prize after buying a couple of tickets on a whim and hopes to use the money to buy a house.
Justin Johnson was using an ATM at a Wawa in Norfolk when he noticed someone playing a Virginia Lottery machine. He decided to buy a couple of scratchers for himself, not knowing one of them would win the game’s $100,000 top prize.
Johnson took the tickets home and scratched them while FaceTiming with his fiancée. It was during that call that he discovered he had won the top prize in the 10X the Money game.
“My heart started beating fast!” the Norfolk man told Virginia Lottery officials when he claimed his prize.
Johnson, who works as a longshoreman, now hopes to put the unexpected windfall towards a home of his own.
He said his goal is to use the $100,000 prize to help him buy a house.
The winning ticket came from the Wawa at 6301 North Military Highway in Norfolk. The 10X the Money scratcher offers prizes ranging from $5 to the $100,000 top prize.
Johnson’s win was the first $100,000 top prize claimed in the game. Four other top prizes remained unclaimed at the time of his claim.
The game has overall odds of winning any prize of 1 in 4.48, while the odds of winning the $100,000 top prize are 1 in 1,370,880.
For Johnson, what began as a quick decision to buy a couple of scratchers after seeing another player at the machine has turned into an opportunity to work towards one of his biggest goals: buying a house.
Im interested to buy some ticket