A Florida man transformed $50 into life-changing amounts of money this week. The Florida Lottery revealed that 54-year-old Paul Nitz, of Merritt Island, claimed his $1 million prize from the 500X THE CASH Scratch-Off game on Wednesday (October 11).
The lucky winner chose to take home his earnings as a one-time, lump-sum payment of $820,000, according to lottery officials.
Nitz purchased his ticket from a Publix located at 125 East Merritt Island Causeway in Merritt Island. The retailer will also get a $2,000 bonus commission for selling the winning scratcher.
It costs $50 to play 500X THE CASH, which features two top prizes of $25 million. Lottery officials said this is the largest prize ever offered on a Florida scratch-off game.
As of Wednesday, there are no more top prizes left to win in this game, but there are four prizes of $1 million up for grabs. The overall odds of winning are 1 in 4.5.
There are more Floridians waiting to become millionaires like Nitz. A $2 million Powerball ticket was sold at another Publix in the Sunshine State. Last week, two Powerball tickets worth $1 million each were sold at different Publix stores in Florida.