A Chatham man got a big surprise while making a bowl of soup recently as he won $1,051,955 while playing a Virginia Lottery game on a personal device.
“I really didn’t expect this to happen!” Daniel Ricketts said. “I called my girlfriend, and she didn’t believe me!”
Ricketts said he had a few minutes to kill while the soup was heating up, so he went online and played the Wheel of Bonuses game.
“I was expecting a much lower prize!” he said.
Wheel of Bonuses features a progressive, growing jackpot and can be accessed at the Lottery’s website, valottery.com, or on the Lottery’s mobile app. The odds per game of winning any prize are 1 in 3.67.
In addition to online instant games, players can purchase Powerball, Mega Millions, Cash4Life, Pick 3, Pick 4, Pick 5 and Cash 5 with EZ Match plays online. Players must be at least 18 years of age and physically located in Virginia.
All Virginia Lottery profits go to K-12 education in Virginia. Mr. Ricketts lives in Pittsylvania County, which received more than $7.2 million in Lottery funds for K-12 education last fiscal year. In Fiscal Year 2023, the Lottery raised more than $867 million for K-12 education, making up approximately 10 percent of Virginia’s total K-12 school budget.