Lottery player buys scratch-off tickets after getting new tires — and wins top prize

A lucky Virginia lottery player scored a top prize win from a scratch-off game he bought after getting new tires, lottery officials said.

Paul Rush stopped at a store after getting his new tires and won a $250,000 top prize from the Black Diamond Dazzler game, the Virginia Lottery said in a March 19 news release.

“I was really happy!” he told lottery officials as he collected his winnings.

He purchased his winning ticket at a gas station in Front Royal, a 70-mile drive west from Washington, D.C., the lottery said.

Rush’s win is the first top prize win for the Black Diamond Dazzler game, which started March 4. Two other top prizes remain along with other prizes starting at $5, according to the lottery.

The odds of winning a top prize are 1 in 1,020,000 and the overall odds of winning are 1 in 4.68, lottery officials said.

This story was originally published March 20, 2025 at 8:06 AM with the headline "Lottery player buys scratch-off tickets after getting new tires — and wins top prize."

Natalie Demaree

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Natalie Demaree is a service journalism reporter covering Mississippi for McClatchy Media. She holds a master’s in journalism from Columbia Journalism School and a bachelor’s in journalism and political science with a specialization in African and African American Studies from the University of Arkansas.