Family’s birthday lottery ticket tradition pays off big. ‘I couldn’t believe it!’

A Missouri woman was in shock over what she thought was a $500 lottery win on her birthday.

But, as it turns out, her prize was significantly larger.

The woman from Wentzville was gifted a Pink Panther Diamond Tripler lottery ticket by her sister. It’s a continuance of their family’s tradition of giving their siblings $5 scratch-off tickets for their birthdays.

She scratched off the ticket during a family event and began celebrating right away.

“When I saw the $500, I couldn’t believe it! I’ve never won that much on a ticket before,” she told lottery officials.

As she continued to scratch the ticket, she soon realized she won even more. Her ticket was one of the game’s three jackpot prizes of $100,000.

She said she “fell on the floor” when she saw what she won.

“This was the best birthday gift ever!” the winner said.

Wentzville is about a 40-mile drive northwest from St. Louis.

This story was originally published November 4, 2024 at 3:15 PM with the headline "Family’s birthday lottery ticket tradition pays off big. ‘I couldn’t believe it!’."