Orlando resident wins $1m from Florida Lottery scratch-off ticket

Lottery players often think that luck is always around the corner.

One such lucky player recently won $1m after purchasing a scratch-off ticket from the Florida Lottery.

On Monday, the Lottery released a statement, confirming details regarding the 56-year-old winner whose name is Efren Villamar Herrera.

The Orlando resident purchased a $20 scratch-off ticket for the Lottery's popular game, Gold Rush Limited.

To the surprise of the 56-year-old man, he scored a $1m payday, which is a second-tier prize in this particular game.

Herrera purchased his winning ticket from Wawa at 3100 South Orange Avenue in Orlando.

After selling the winning ticket, the lottery retailer will receive a $2,000 bonus.

The winner decided to collect a lump cash sum

The fortunate lottery player recently visited the Lottery's Orlando District Office to claim his prize.

As is usual with prizes of such size, the 56-year-old was presented with a choice to either collect a lump cash sum or receive the whole prize through annuity payments.

According to the Florida Lottery, Herrera selected the former option.

As a result, the man collected a one-time lump sum payment of $795,000.

It's important to note that the aforementioned payout doesn't reflect the applicable federal tax.

Currently, prizes of more than $5,000 are subject to a 24% federal tax. This rule applies to US citizens and resident aliens who have a valid Social Security Number.

On the other hand, prizes of $5,000 or less are not subject to federal taxes in Florida.

Gold Rush Limited grants a chance for prizes between $20 and $5m

The $20 Gold Rush Limited lottery ticket offers an overall odds of 1 in 2.65.

The ticket grants players a chance to win a prize between $20 and $5m.

At launch, there were a total of 32 top prizes of $5m and now, only three remain in play.

The odds of winning a top prize are 1 in 2,362,500.

On the other hand, the Gold Rush Limited scratch-off ticket initially offered 100 prizes of $1m each.

Considering the most recent win, 11 such prizes remain up for grabs with the odds of winning being 1 in 756,000.

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