Gas station clerk picks scratch-off for Missouri woman. She ‘almost cried’ at winnings

A Missouri woman has a gas station clerk to thank after winning the top prize in a scratch-off game.

Missouri Lottery officials said the woman let her QuikTrip clerk pick which game she would play. When the worker at the Parkville location chose the In the Green game, all the lottery player had to do was purchase the $5 ticket and get to scratching.

She soon realized she was holding one of the game’s six $100,000 tickets.

“I almost cried,” the woman, who chose to remain anonymous, told lottery officials. “I didn’t think it was real.”

Her jackpot win was the first of the game’s top prizes to be claimed. There remains five $100,000 tickets and six $20,000 tickets unclaimed.

The woman is planning on using her winnings to pay off her student loans.

“Our debt is pretty much paid. It’s really nice,” she said.

This story was originally published February 22, 2023 at 4:27 AM with the headline "Gas station clerk picks scratch-off for Missouri woman. She ‘almost cried’ at winnings."