WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — A Polk County man won big Friday, claiming the $1 million top prize from the Florida Lottery's SEVEN FIGURES scratch-off game.
Fifty-three-year-old Carlos Cole Sr. chose to receive his winnings as a one-time, lump-sum payment of $695,000, Florida Lottery Communications said in a news release. The cashier who sold him the ticket at a Winter Haven Publix made a pretty penny as well, receiving a $2,000 bonus commission.
Officials said the SEVEN FIGURES Scratch-Off game features more than 5.8 million winning tickets with the top prize being $1 million.
The odds of winning the top prize? 1-in-5,751,750, according to the Florida Lottery website. The overall odds of winning are 1-in-3.77.
Overall, the game offers more than $79.5 million in total cash prizes.
"Scratch-off games are an important part of the Lottery’s portfolio of games, comprising approximately 72% of ticket sales in fiscal year 2022-2023," officials said in a news release.
According to the Florida Lottery, scratch-off games have awarded more than $61.9 billion in cash prizes, created 2,103 millionaires and generated more than $18.95 billion for Florida's Educational Enhancement Trust Fund.
In addition, the Florida Lottery has contributed more than $46 billion to help send more than 983,000 students to college through the Bright Futures Scholarship Program.
No tickets remain for the $1 million SEVEN FIGURES prize, but the Florida Lottery says three are remaining for the $50,000 prize.
Florida Lottery says winners should sign their ticket as soon as they buy it, keep them in a safe and secure place and claim their prize before their ticket expires.
Click here to find out how you can play and where you can buy tickets.
