A Florida man just turned a regular stop into a million-dollar milestone. Jatin Kaushik, 26, won $1 million this week while playing the Florida Lottery’s $25,000,000 Gold Rush Multiplier scratch-off game.
Kaushik of Winter Park went to the Lottery’s Orlando District Office on December 8 to claim his winnings. Rather than purchasing an annuity, he elected to receive his winnings in one lump sum payment of $638,100.00. The winning ticket was purchased at Charge Up 69, situated at 7235 University Boulevard in Winter Park.
The $50 game that made Kaushik a millionaire was notorious for its tremendous magnitude, with over $1.2 billion in total cash rewards.
While the game has two top rewards of $25 million, there are also 60 other $1 million prize tiers. According to Florida Lottery officials, the overall odds of winning any reward in the game are 1 in 4.09.
Aside from individual winners, the Florida Lottery continues to be a major source of state revenue. Since its founding in 1988, the organization has raised almost $50 billion for educational programs.
This includes financing for the Bright Futures Scholarship Program, which has sent more than a million students to Florida’s colleges and technical schools.
According to official figures, about 99 percent of lottery revenue returns to the state economy.
This money is given through prize prizes, commissions to over 13,600 local retailers, and direct contributions to the state’s education budget. To date, the Lottery has produced more than 4,475 millionaires and distributed over $104.8 billion in rewards.