In the grand scheme of life, there are two kinds of people... Those who trust the universe's grand plan and those who take matters into their own hands with a scratch-off ticket. Meet Jose Ramirez, a 59-year-old Miami resident who recently gave fate the finger and became a millionaire. All thanks to a stroke of luck and a $20 bill burning a hole in his pocket.
According to WFLA, Monday morning's news brought the revelation that Ramirez, snagged a cool $1 million from the Florida Lottery's $20 Gold Rush Limited scratch-off game. Forget winning the lottery... This guy practically high-fived destiny at his local Circle K, and we're all here for it.
Who doesn't love an underdog story? Like Jose, a regular Joe with a dream and a dollar, walks into his neighborhood Circle K in Summerland Key. He casually picks up the Gold Rush Limited scratch-off ticket, probably making some half-joking remark about how this is his ticket to a beachside mansion. But little did he know, he was just one scratch away from making that dream a reality.
Scratch-Off Win:
Fast forward to the announcement from the Florida Lottery, and there it is—Jose Ramirez, the man of the hour. Not only is he the proud owner of a newfound fortune, but he also bestowed a $2,000 bonus upon the Circle K that sold him the golden ticket.
Now, instead of dealing with the hassle of waiting for his money like the rest of us mortals, he opted for the instant money route. A one-time payment of $795,000. Why wait for the money to trickle in when you can have it all at once? Jose knows what's up.
But before you rush off to your nearest Circle K with dreams of striking it rich, know this...The Gold Rush game still has some treasures up for grabs. There are nine prizes of $5 million and a respectable 26 remaining $1 million prizes.
Well, maybe it's time to take a stroll down to the corner store and see if destiny has a winning ticket waiting with our name on it. After all, if Jose can do it, why not us?
Only 3 Florida Lottery Scratch Off Tickets Have ALL Of Its Grand Prize Winners Remaining
I love playing Florida Lottery scratch off tickets. But I also want to win. And the best way to win (I hope) is to do a little research. Did you know that some of the tickets at the counter have all of their top prizes already gone? It's true, and they don't tell you. I mean, I'll tell you, with this link right here. But if you're impulse buying at the Publix in Fort Myers, you really don't know. Also, you really don't know which tickets are completely fresh, meaning, which tickets have never had a grand prize claimed. But I know, and I'll tell you.
The Florida Lottery has a website that tracks all their current tickets. You can see the odds, the prizes, and more importantly - how many of those prizes are available. You can also sift through the data and find out who won on what ticket and where they bough it. Take for instance the 500X The Cash Game. It had a $25 million dollar top prize. A guy in Bonita Springs bought one of those winning tickets at a Circle K on Bonita Beach Road. The other went to a guy in Riverview, Florida and he got his ticket at Publix.
It's with that data, I found that there's only 3 Florida Lottery scratch off tickets that no one has claimed a grand prize - yet. Does this mean these tickets are due? Maybe it means that these tickets aren't as popular? Does it mean that someone has a winning ticket and for some reason hasn't turned it in yet? I really don't know. But one of these tickets has to hit big eventually, and I want it to be from me.
$50,000 TRIPLE MATCH
I don't usually play the $2 tickets, but they are great as Christmas gifts. There are 6 $50,000 winning tickets out there somewhere. Your odds of finding one is 1-in-3,025,450. The odds of being bit by an alligator in Florida is 1 in 3.2 million. So your odds of winning with this ticket is better than being bit by an alligator while living in Florida.
$5MM TRIPLE MATCH
Here's the $20 version of that other ticket. Eight people will be lucky enough to find a $5 million dollar winning ticket while playing this game. Unfortunately, the odds of that are 1-in-3,774,705. So I'd steer clear of alligators.
$1M YR/LIFE SPEC
This one is absolutely nuts. This $50 ticket was launched on February 27, 2023 and no one has claimed a grand prize yet. $1 million dollars a year for life. You could actually afford to buy a house in Florida with that kind of money. What are the odds? There's only 2 of the grand prize tickets out there, and the odds that you'll find one is 1-in-21,727,995. Those odds seem daunting, but the odds of winning Powerball are 1 in 292 million. So by comparison. It's better. But I'd really steer clear of alligators.
Is that all?
Yeah, as of November 15th, 2023 that's the only 3 that fit the criteria. Another thing you may want to know is that many of those tickets at the counter have no big winner left. I put that list right here.
Good luck all. And play responsibly. Scratch off tickets should be fun.
