Stressed mom grabs scratch off after flat tire and suddenly becomes $1 million winner
SALEM TOWNSHIP, PA — A Westmoreland County mother dealing with car trouble and the stress of juggling work and family life walked into a Pennsylvania gas station for a drink and walked out with a $1 million lottery ticket just days before Mother’s Day.
Pennsylvania Lottery officials celebrated 32-year-old Beth Dudley on Friday after she claimed a $1 million top prize playing the WIN WIN WIN scratch-off game.
The winning ticket was sold at Crabtree Gas & Go, a Sunoco station located at 226 Roosevelt Way in Salem Township.
Lottery officials said the retailer will receive a $5,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket.
Dudley said the win came after a difficult day that started with a flat tire shortly after dropping her toddler off at daycare on April 21.
“I was actually stressing over car issues,” Dudley told lottery officials.
While stopping for a drink later that day, she decided to purchase a lottery ticket.
“What’s it going to hurt?” she recalled thinking.
After scratching the ticket, Dudley realized she had just won $1 million.
“I thought, ‘Am I seeing this right?’ Then I just started to cry,” she said.
The first person she called was her mother, who initially feared something terrible had happened because Dudley’s father suffers from stage 4 heart failure.
Dudley later called her husband, who she said did not immediately believe the news.
The mother of two said she plans to buy a new car and invest the remaining winnings.
WIN WIN WIN is a $10 Pennsylvania Lottery scratch-off game featuring top prizes of $1 million.
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Key Points
• Pennsylvania mother wins $1 million after stopping for scratch-off ticket
• Winning ticket purchased after stressful flat tire incident
• Westmoreland County gas station receives $5,000 selling bonus