Facebook group chips in for lottery ticket at Publix. Then livestream reveals big win
.jpg "The Florida group scored a $1 million lottery prize, leaving one of the players in disbelief.")
A group chipped in to buy a lottery ticket at Publix — then watched as a livestream revealed it was worth $1 million.
“When I scratched the ticket, I couldn’t believe it,” 60-year-old Elizabeth Williams told the Florida Lottery. “All I could say was ‘O-M-G’ over and over.”
Members of the “Lucky Lotto Champs” Facebook group got richer after they pooled their money together to play the $1,000,000 A Year for Life Spectacular game. The group paid $50 for their winning ticket at the Publix supermarket on Normandy Boulevard in Jacksonville, lottery officials said.
“We’re a close-knit group that enjoys putting our money together to play scratch-offs,” Williams, who is from Jacksonville, said in an April 3 news release.
Williams checked the ticket on Facebook Live, revealing the big win to group members living across Florida. The group — which beat 1-in-4.50 odds to win a prize in the scratch-off game — took the winnings in a lump sum of $640,000, according to the Florida Lottery.
It’s not the first time a person has scored a prize-winning ticket at a Publix store. One man shopping at the Florida-based supermarket chain won big after someone cut him in line, while a customer in South Carolina came home with groceries and a jackpot win, McClatchy News reported.
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This story was originally published April 3, 2023 at 3:14 PM with the headline "Facebook group chips in for lottery ticket at Publix. Then livestream reveals big win."
