Dinner With An $80,515 Side Of Luck

By 1808Delaware A Delaware County man went out for dinner and picked up something that wasn't on the menu: an $80,515 lottery win. While visiting OH Pizza & Prime in Marengo, the man played the Ohio Lottery's EZPLAY Lucky 5's game with a $5 wager. His ticket revealed 15 '5' symbols, qualifying him for 25% of the game's progressive jackpot, according to the Ohio Lottery's announcement. The restaurant, located at 618 State Route 61, sold the winning ticket. After mandatory tax withholding of 26.75%, the Lottery says he will receive $58,977.24. Fifteen Fives Made the Difference Lucky 5's is the $5 wagering option within the Lottery's EZPLAY Lucky Numbers game, whose progressive jackpots start at $20,000. The amount wagered determines the share of the jackpot available to a winning player: $5 qualifies for 25%, $10 for 50% and $20 for the full amount. For the Marengo diner, finding all 15 required symbols secured the top prize available at his wager level. The game lists overall odds of winning any prize at 1 in 3.62; that figure covers all prize levels, rather than the jackpot alone. From Buckeye 300 to Today Ohio's lottery history began with voters, who approved creation of the Ohio Lottery Commission in 1973. Its first game, Buckeye 300, went on sale in August 1974. The offerings eventually expanded to include multistate drawings, scratch-off tickets and EZPLAY games, which debuted in April 2008 as instant-style games printed through lottery terminals. Ohio Lottery history Education became the designated beneficiary of Lottery profits through legislative action in 1983, followed by a constitutional amendment approved by voters in 1987. Today, the Lottery reports that all its profits support Ohio's K–12, vocational and special education programs, with cumulative contributions exceeding $35 billion since 1974.