Couple thinks Arkansas lottery win is a ‘hoax.’ It was actually a record-breaking prize
As a statewide lottery-jackpot climbed to over $5 million, an Arkansas man “decided to jump in” and take a chance at the life-changing prize.
The LOTTO drawing neared, so the Yell County man bought his tickets online. Then, his phone rang.
The player had received a call saying he was the winner of a $5.123 million jackpot prize, matching the numbers 1, 6, 7, 19, 27 and 40 and bonus number 14, Arkansas lottery officials said in a Feb. 6 news release.
The prize breaks a record for the largest state-exclusive jackpot prize in state history, officials said.
However, the man didn’t believe he was part of that record.
“It just doesn’t sound right,” he and his wife thought as they heard the news over the phone.
His wife said, “we thought it was a hoax,” per the release.
However, it was indeed real. It wasn’t until they picked up a red envelope with the winning ticket inside that the news settled in, according to the release.
On Feb. 3, the lucky player claimed his prize.
“What a weekend!” he told lottery officials.
Now, the couple is keeping the news of the big win to just close family and friends as they make plans to pay off their debt and set aside money for their future, the release said.
Yell County is about an 80-mile drive northwest from Little Rock.
This story was originally published February 6, 2025 at 3:03 PM with the headline "Couple thinks Arkansas lottery win is a ‘hoax.’ It was actually a record-breaking prize."
