Woman stops for gas and a Diet Coke — and leaves as the winner of huge lottery prize

While out with a friend, a Missouri woman said she stopped at a QuikTrip convenience store to fill up on gas and buy a soda.

“I went in to buy my Diet Coke and, when I opened my wallet, there were two singles and a $20 bill,” she told Missouri Lottery officials. “I bought my soda and thought, ‘Hey, I’m feeling lucky,’ so I asked the clerk if he had a $20 Scratchers ticket.”

The QuikTrip worker handed the St. Louis woman a “Super Cash Bonanza” ticket, according to a Sept. 1 news release from the Missouri Lottery.

“I scratched the ticket in the car and kept looking at my friend after I matched the first couple numbers,” she told lottery officials. “I was like, ‘Is this real?’”

She had won $2 million — the game’s top prize, according to the release.

“I was very calm about it,” she recalled when claiming her winnings. She added that she plans to “lay low for a while” since she doesn’t have any “immediate big needs.”

This was the first time the woman — who said she rarely buys Scratchers tickets — had bought a $20 game ticket, according to the release.

“I only bought one ticket and it only takes one!” she said.

The winning ticket was sold at QuikTrip at 2030 Union Rd. in St. Louis.

This story was originally published September 1, 2023 at 9:20 AM with the headline "Woman stops for gas and a Diet Coke — and leaves as the winner of huge lottery prize."