From the Virginia Lottery:
Luis Gomez Palma stopped at the 7-Eleven because he was thirsty. He left with a million-dollar winning lottery ticket.
The Woodbridge man won it in the Virginia Lottery’s Extreme Millionsgame.
“I could feel my heart beating so fast!” he said, recalling the moment he realized he was scratching a winning ticket. “I was nervous.”
He had the choice of taking the full $1 million prize over 30 years or a one-time cash option of $657,030 before taxes. He chose the cash option. The store that sold the winning ticket, 7-Eleven at 18075 Fraley Boulevard in Dumfries, receives a $10,000 bonus from the Virginia Lottery.
He said he plans to use his winnings to pay bills and save for his children’s education.
Shirley Cameron was watching a movie with her granddaughter when she checked the winning numbers and discovered she’d won the top prize in the Virginia Lottery’s Cash 5 game.
“I was too excited to watch the rest of the movie,” she said.
Normally that stroke of luck would win $100,000. However, Ms. Cameron had, not one, but five tickets in the August 11 day drawing, each with the same five numbers. That means she won a total of $500,000.
Those winning numbers were 1-4-5-17-18. She selected her numbers using family birthdays. She bought her tickets at Safeway, 4240 Merchant Plaza in Woodbridge.
This isn’t the first time Ms. Cameron has matched all five numbers playing Cash 5. In 2014 she won $200,000 in a single drawing and in 2013 she won $100,000. She said she plays every day.
Cash 5 drawings are held daily at 1:59 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. The chances of winning the $100,000 top prize are 1 in 278,256.
