A Lake City man is half a million dollars richer after winning the top prize in a Florida Lottery Scratch-Off game. Joseph Demaio, 50, of Lake City, went to the Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee on September 17 to claim his $500,000 prize from the “$500,000 CASH BLOWOUT” Scratch-Off game.
Demaio chose to receive his winnings as a one-time, lump-sum payment of $500,000.00. The lucky ticket was purchased at Tower Road Supermarket, 7114 W. University Avenue, Gainesville.
The “$500,000 CASH BLOWOUT” is a $50 scratch-off game with 100 top prizes of $500,000. The game has over $1.01 billion in cash prizes, over 6.3 million winning tickets, and an overall odds of winning of 1-in-4.08.
Scratch-Off games remain a substantial element of the Florida Lottery’s products, accounting for nearly 74% of ticket sales in fiscal year 2023-2024.
Since their start, the games have paid out over $66.9 billion in prizes, generated 2,350 billionaires, and donated more than $20.09 billion to the state’s Educational Enhancement Trust Fund (EETF).
