High school grad wins $1 million
Turning $10 into $1 million is easier said than done. But for a 19-year-old Moorestown High School graduate, he managed to do it with a simple scratch of a lottery ticket.
According to the New Jersey Lottery public relations manger Judith Drucker, the young man said he purchased the ticket on Tuesday, Sept. 18, and claimed the prize on Thursday, Oct. 4.
“The face value of the ticket is $1 million,“ Drucker said.
The young man had two options when he claimed his prize. He could either choose to go with the annuity prize — $40,000 per year for 25 years — or cash.
He wanted cash, Drucker said.
The cash option allowed him to walk away with $650,000 in one payout.
Brian Ulvil, manger at the Chester Avenue 7-Eleven — where the $1 million ticket was purchased — said the young winner frequently appears in the store to buy a drink or food.
“He doesn’t play much. He might have felt lucky,” Ulvil said.
Ulvil did see the winner and his friends singing and dancing outside of the store after purchasing the ticket.
Only a sporadic scratch off precipitant, the $100 million Spectacular scratch off ticket was the first ticket the young man purchased, Drucker said.
“His friends urged him to buy the ticket and he did,” Drucker said.
According to Drucker, the young man’s grandmother passed away a few weeks before he purchased the ticket. Unlike himself, his grandmother was an enthusiastic fan of the lottery.
“He has his lottery angle with him,” Drucker said.
The name of the winner was not identified.
