LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Kentucky college student was shocked to learn she won thousands of dollars from a lottery scratch off ticket.
Bella Sears, who attends a Lexington college, bought a $5 Mega Super Hot 7’s ticket from the Murphy USA on Letton Drive in Paris, Ky.
“I couldn’t wait to get back to work. I always scratch my tickets in the car,” she said. “I started scratching and then I think it was the fifth number, and it was a seven. I was like I’m just going to scratch off [the prize amount] and it’s only going to be $5.”
Sears had actually won the game’s second top prize of $7,777.
“When I saw that, I was like this has got to be a prank, this is a joke, this is not real,” she said.
When she called her father, she was already crying.
“I thought she had wrecked her car by the way she was carrying on,” he told Kentucky Lottery officials.
Sears then told her mom and coworkers.
“They all thought I was lying. The girls at work said they never win,” Sears said.
After taxes, Sears took home a check for $5,599.44. She plans to use some of that money to pay for college.
“And I want to save some of it for emergencies because being a college student, things do happen, and stuff goes wrong,” Sears said.
Kentucky Lottery said Mega Super Hot 7s is a relatively new game, debuting in February.
There is still one $77,777 top prize remaining and 22 other $7,777 second-tier prizes remaining.
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