A very lucky Massachusetts woman has won the first top prize in one of the Massachusetts State Lottery’s highest-paying games. The winner visited the lottery HQ to claim her winnings and said that she plans to use the newfound fortune to buy a new home.
Springfield Woman Takes Home $15M
The winner was revealed to be Lori Morales of Springfield. Morales was playing the Massachusetts State Lottery’s $30 $15,000,000 Magnificent Millions scratch-off game when, to her surprise, she scratched off a top prize of $15 million.
The life-changing sum is notably the first top prize from the $15,000,000 Magnificent Millions game to ever land, making it something of a historic moment for both Morales and the lottery itself.
The Massachusetts Lottery revealed that the winning ticket was bought at Cumberland Farms, located at 1061 Memorial Drive in Chicopee. The store is set to be granted a $50,000 incentive bonus for the sale.
In the meantime, Morales visited the lottery HQ to claim her winnings. After being allowed to choose from an annuitized option for the full sum and a one-time lump sum payment of $9.75 million (before taxes), she went with the latter.
Speaking to lottery officials, the lucky woman said that she plans to use some of her winnings to buy a new home for her family.
At launch, the $30 $15,000,000 Magnificent Millions scratch-off game featured three top prizes of $15 million, as well as eight second-tier prizes of $1 million. As of the time of this writing, two of the top prizes and all second-tier prizes are still up for grabs.
Another Player in the State Won $4M
Morales’s big win comes several days after another player won a seven-figure prize. The payout was scored by Jose Valerio of Harwich, who won $4 million playing the Massachusetts State Lottery’s “100X” instant ticket game.
After visiting the lottery HQ, Valerio walked out with a lump sum of $2.6 million before taxes. Just like Morales, Valerio said that he would be looking for a new home first thing.
In other Massachusetts-related news, the state’s gambling regulator just launched Bet On Respect, a new initiative that seeks to protect professional athletes from harassment and threats. Per this new program, all offenders risk getting placed on an involuntary exclusion list. All names present on the list will be denied entry at local casinos and will be unable to gamble online.