$500K Wild Cash win stuns Virginia lottery player
VINTON, VA – A routine morning took a dramatic turn for a Roanoke County man who picked up a penny from the ground and moments later scratched off a winning lottery ticket worth $500,000.
The man purchased a Wild Cash scratcher at the Shop In store located at 7865 Jordantown Road in Vinton in the early hours of Sunday. After scratching the ticket in the parking lot, he discovered he had hit the game’s top prize. Overcome with shock, he reportedly celebrated outside the store before heading back inside to embrace the store clerk.
The win marks the second of three top prizes available in the Wild Cash game, which offers a grand prize of $500,000. The odds of winning the top prize are 1 in 612,000, while the overall odds of winning any prize are 1 in 4.01.
The Virginia Lottery confirmed that the winning ticket was sold at the Shop In on South Jordantown Road. The Wild Cash game is one of dozens of instant-win scratchers offered statewide.
Lottery officials also noted that all proceeds from Virginia Lottery ticket sales go toward funding public education. In Fiscal Year 2025, the Lottery raised more than $901 million for K-12 education across the state, accounting for roughly 10 percent of Virginia’s overall school budget.
Roanoke County, where the winner resides, received over $8.8 million in Lottery contributions for education in the last fiscal year.
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Key Points
- Virginia man wins $500,000 top prize from Wild Cash scratcher in Vinton
- Winning ticket was purchased after picking up a heads-up penny
- Only one top prize remains unclaimed in the Wild Cash game
