Who's the luckier lottery winner?

By Kate Northrop

CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio — An Ohio woman raised the bar after her husband's $1 million lottery win, staking her claim to the largest prize in their household with a $5 million win.

An Ohio woman now has bragging rights to one-upping her husband in the lottery after her luck added a $5 million prize to their combined take-home in winnings.

The anonymous couple share quite a lot of luck between the two of them, with the husband having won a $1 million prize "several years ago," the Ohio Lottery said in a press release. They enjoy playing the lottery for fun, occasionally bringing home a win "here and there."

A recent visit to the Kroger on Lancaster Pike in Circleville upped the ante from their casual wins.

While there, the woman purchased a $50 "Ultimate $5,000,000" scratch-off ticket, but much to her dismay, she didn't win anything. She chose to give it one more try and bought the next ticket on the roll.

She was in a rush, so she didn't scratch off the entire ticket right then and there. However, she was under the impression that she won $20,000 and excitedly called her husband. They were ecstatic, already planning a vacation to celebrate the occasion.

But then she scanned the ticket just to be sure. A second look had her thinking the prize was even bigger — $200,000.

When she arrived home, she finished scratching off the rest of the ticket and was met with the third shock of the day: It wasn't a $200,000 cash prize, rather $200,000 per year for 25 years, or the jackpot equivalent of $5 million.

When she claimed her prize from the Ohio Lottery, she opted to receive it as an annuity, which will come to $146,500 per year for 25 years after 26.75% state and federal taxes.

The winner told Lottery officials about her plans to retire, and that she and her husband are "just going to enjoy life." By the time she spoke with Lottery staff, she had already booked an overnight stay in the Christmas Story House, the Cleveland home featured in the movie "A Christmas Story."

That's not all — they'd also like to travel to Florida to experience swimming with the manatees, and she detailed plans to finish college, spoil her dogs, and invest. They both confirmed with confidence that they'll continue to play the lottery, too.

She and her husband are in disbelief that they've had such a lucky track record, and she expressed to Lottery officials how "totally grateful" she is "for the Lottery for providing this opportunity twice."

As of now, there are four out of six top prizes of $5 million remaining in the $50 "Ultimate $5,000,000" scratch-off game, which launched in September 2025. There are also 86 out of 100 second-tier prizes of $50,000 and 428 out of 500 third-tier prizes of $10,000 left to claim.

The overall odds of winning any prize in the game are 1 in 3.61.