(LEX 18) — A quick stop for an energy drink turned into a $551,151 Kentucky Lottery jackpot for a Glasgow couple. James and Tammy Milby claimed the prize playing the $20 Big Money Doubler Fast Play game.
James, a truck driver, played scratch-off tickets for years but switched to Fast Play games eight or nine months ago after taking advice from his grandson, according to lottery officials.
“My grandson was watching me and he told me, ‘Papaw, it’s just like a Scratch-off, only you don’t scratch!’” James said. “So, I started trying them instead of Scratch-offs. I’d been watching that game and figured it was bound to be hit some time or another."
Fast Play features a series of games with instant cash prizes and a rolling jackpot starting at $10,000. Players have a chance to win a percentage of the progressive jackpot or other instant prizes with each ticket, officials detailed.
On the morning of the win, James and Tammy were working in their yard when James decided to run to South Green Market on South Green Street in Glasgow for a drink. He used $30 in change to try his luck on a ticket.
“I scanned it and thought, ‘What in the world, something ain’t right,’” James said. “I hollered for my buddy who works at the store, and he said, ‘I knew it! Your time was coming!’”
James rushed home to show Tammy, who initially thought something was wrong.
“He was just a shaking,” Tammy said. “Then he kept saying, ‘No, it’s good! It’s good!’ I made him take me back to the store. I’ve got to see it for myself,” Tammy said.
“I knew she’d never believe me!” James said.
The $551,151 prize included a bonus feature that added $250,000 to the 100% won on the advertised $301,151 jackpot. This marks only the second time a Kentucky Lottery player has taken home the $250,000 additional bonus on a Fast Play game, lottery officials noted.
The odds of winning the jackpot plus the bonus on the $20 Big Money Doubler game are 1 in 240,000.
The couple took home $399,584 after taxes. They plan to invest the money, pay off bills, and move a little slower in life, according to lottery officials.
“I just want to improve my family’s life. And whatever the good Lord puts on my heart to do, I’ll do,” James said.
The couple kept the news quiet at first to make sure everything was real, dodging questions from their children who noticed their parents’ unusual schedules. They planned to share the news with their children after leaving the Kentucky Lottery headquarters.
