Man Who Was Given Lottery Ticket in Get-Well Card After Open-Heart Surgery Wins $1 Million Prize
Alexander McLeish received three scratch-off tickets in a get-well card from a friend while he was recovering from double-bypass heart surgery surgery. As he began scratching off the letters on the lottery ticket, he noticed a good-luck sign: the first three letters were his initials; A, W, and M.
As McLeish continued revealing the letters on the crossword lottery ticket, for a game called $5,000,000 100X Cashword, he unveiled the word “heart” on the bottom row. Players earn more money for how many complete words they are able to find.
He won the second top prize for the game: $1 million. There are 10 total prize winners for that amount on the $20 ticket. The highest prize is $5 million.
“We double-checked it, triple-checked and quadruple-checked it,” McLeish told the Boston Herald. “It was a little bit of disbelief at first but then it settled in and it was like, wow, I can’t believe this happened, you know?”
McLeish claimed his prize last week, and he chose the cash option. Before taxes, he took home a one-time payment of $650,000.
As a bonus for selling the winning ticket this time around, the Quickeez Beer, Wine and Convenience Store in Carver, Massachusetts will receive a $10,000 bonus, per the state lottery’s press release.
McLeish plans to share his winnings with his children, as well as give some to his friend, Larry, who purchased the ticket.
Image source: People
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