A Tarpon Springs woman just turned a routine grocery stop into a life-changing payday, claiming a $1 million prize from the Florida Lottery’s $1,000,000 HOLIDAY CA$H scratch-off game and taking home a $606,700 lump-sum payout. Local reporting has identified the winner as 35-year-old Jessica Henri, who bought the lucky ticket at a Publix on U.S. Highway 19 in Tarpon Springs and reportedly claimed the prize on Nov. 17.
According to Tampa Bay 28, the Florida Lottery confirmed Henri’s claim and noted that she opted for the one-time payout. The winning ticket was sold at the Publix located at 40932 U.S. Highway 19 N. in Tarpon Springs, turning an ordinary store into a very lucky stop.
How the Holiday Ca$h game works
The HOLIDAY CA$H family of games includes multiple price points and a Holiday Cash Bonus Play that offered extra entries and instant-win coupons for players who did not score on their original tickets. As outlined by the Florida Lottery, the $1,000,000 HOLIDAY CA$H ticket is a $20 scratch-off that carried 20 entries into the promotion’s bonus drawings. In other words, even the non-winners were still getting a second shot at some holiday luck.
What the win means for the store and the state
Retailers that sell top-prize scratch-off tickets typically receive a bonus commission, and reporting on comparable Florida Lottery wins has noted that stores that sell $1 million winners often see a bonus of about $2,000. It is a small but welcome reward for being the place where lightning strikes…