Woman wins $1M jackpot in Leon County

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) - A Tallahassee woman won $1 million from the Florida Lottery after buying a Gold Rush Limited Scratch-off game at Parkside Food and Gas, located at 1417 South Monroe St.

Melanie Strickland, 60, chose to receive her winnings as a one-time payment of $795,000, but she doesn’t have any big plans for the money yet.

“I still can’t believe it,” Strickland said. “I just wish my mom was here to see this.”

Strickland said her mom used to collect pennies and placed them in a jar.

After finding out she hit the jackpot, she went to tell her friends. Along the way, she saw a shiny penny.

“I picked it up in honor of my mom,” Strickland said.

Strickland had purchased her scratch-off ticket for $20, and Parkside Food and Gas will receive a $2,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket.

The Gold Rush Limited scratch-off game sells for $20 and features 32 top prizes of $5 million and 100 prizes of $1 million, among other prizes ranging from $1,000 to $100,000. Scratch-off games encompass about 75% of Florida Lottery ticket sales, and raise about $1.3 billion for the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund (EETF).

The Florida Lottery is responsible for contributing more than $41 billion to enhance education, and sending over 917,000 students to college through the Bright Futures Scholarship Program. They also reinvest 99% of their revenue toward Florida’s economy.