Lottery player thinks boss is playing a joke — until he checks his Arkansas ticket
At work, Davis Smith is known for being a dedicated Arkansas lottery player — but he’s also accustomed to his co-workers playing jokes on him.
That’s why he didn’t believe his boss when he said two tickets with big prizes were sold in Perryville and McGehee. The boss shared the news shortly after Smith, of Dermott, bought a ticket in McGehee ahead of the Jan. 25 drawing.
“I told him, ‘You’re getting really good at this!’” Davis said in a Jan. 31 news release from the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery.
With a sliver of hope that his boss was speaking the truth, he took his ticket to a clerk to be checked.
He was stunned when the clerk scanned the ticket and said, “Sir, you are going to have to take this to Little Rock.”
The surprises continued when he learned how much his prize was worth. Davis assumed he had won $1,500, but he actually won $25,000, lottery officials said.
With his winnings, Davis plans to pay off his truck and tractor, and also buy his son a better vehicle.
Dermott is a 115-mile drive southeast from Little Rock.
This story was originally published January 31, 2025 at 3:02 PM with the headline "Lottery player thinks boss is playing a joke — until he checks his Arkansas ticket."
