Man Thought It Was Scam After Winning USD 500,000 On Second-Chance Game

By Georgina JеdikovskaLotteryOct 31, 2023

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A man who got a second chance and turned an unlucky lottery ticket lucky thought it was a scam when he found out he had won USD 500,000.

Michael Koontz from the city of Winslow, Arkansas state, USA, said he was stunned when he scooped the astonishing prize on the lottery’s ‘Play it Again’ second-chance game on 26th October.

Photo shows Michael Koontz of Winslow, undated. The man won $500,000 in ASL’s Play It Again in October 2023. (Arkansas Scholarship Lottery/Newsflash)

The lucky player said in a statement obtained by Newsflash from Arkansas Lottery: “I received a phone call from the lottery saying that I had won in one of those second-chance drawing.

“I didn’t get too excited because I thought it was a scam and was waiting on the punch line.”

Koontz’s USD 20 (GBP 16) ‘USD 1,000,000 Riches’ ticket was randomly selected from all eligible entries players had submitted from non-winning instant scratchcards.

He said: “I told my wife about the phone call, so she checked The Club website to see if my name was listed and called the lottery to confirm the win.”

Upon collecting the prize at lottery headquarters on Friday, 27th October, Koontz revealed that he plans to use the money to pay his bills and take a vacation.

Arkansas Lottery representatives said: “Arkansans all over the state claimed big prizes this week at the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery (ASL) Claim Center.

“Players can enter eligible non-winning instant scratch-off tickets to earn Points for Prizes points and enter the Play It Again drawings.

“Players can also enter eligible winning and non-winning terminal-generated tickets for Points for Prizes points.”

They added: “More than 92 cents of every dollar of ASL revenue goes to prizes, scholarships, retailer commissions, and other expenses in Arkansas.

“Since 2009, the lottery has raised more than USD 1.3 billion [GBP 1 billion] in proceeds for scholarships.

“More than 720,000 college scholarships have been awarded to Arkansans.

“The lottery has awarded more than USD 4.7 billion [GBP 4.8 billion] in prizes to players, about USD 395 million [GBP 325 million] in retailer commissions, and provided more than USD 171 million [GBP 141 million] in state and federal tax revenue.”