A Leitchfield couple, who wish to remain anonymous, told Kentucky Lottery officials that winning $40,000 on a Scratch-off ticket is life changing.
While waiting for her husband to get off work, the wife decided to grocery shop at the Walmart on Elizabethtown Road in Leitchfield and part of her purchase was a $3 Pumpkin Payout 9X Scratch-off ticket.
When she scratched the ticket in the parking lot of her husband’s workplace, she found herself in disbelief after uncovering three matching symbols on all 16 games on the ticket to win the $40,000 top prize.
“I really didn’t believe it until I showed him,” she said.
“She tried calling me, but she did sound very worked up, excited,” he said. He told officials he initially thought something was wrong.
“I got in the car, and she handed me this (ticket). I asked, ‘What is this, and then I looked at it,” he said. “You’re messing with me. I need you to tell me if you’re messing with me because that’s my boss walking right over there and I’m about to tell him I need tomorrow off to go to the Lottery office to cash this in.”
“I play often but recently got her into it and she’ll buy a ticket every once in a while,” he said.
The couple claimed their ticket at Lottery headquarters recently, receiving a check for $28,800 after taxes. They shared with lottery officials that they plan to use their winnings to buy a second car and put toward home improvements.
“This couldn’t have come at a better time since we’re down to one car,” he said. “It’s definitely life changing.”
Walmart will receive $400 for selling the winning ticket.
The Kentucky Lottery’s Pumpkin Payout 9X Scratch-off was launched in early September. It’s part of the Lottery’s family of Halloween tickets. There are two $40,000 top prizes remaining and 34 $600 second-tier prizes remaining.
In 2025, the Kentucky Lottery paid out more than $1.6 billion in prizes. Kentucky Lottery proceeds have funded scholarships and grants for more than one million Kentucky college students.
Submitted by the Kentucky Lottery
