Truck Driver Bought Winning Ticket In Chester, Va.
Tim Mackin of Disputanta, Va., was on a winning streak.
He had stopped at the 7-Eleven at 12120 Harrowgate Road in Chester, Va., for a cup of coffee. While he was there he started playing Virginia Lottery games. He won a few games and used the winnings to buy more tickets.
Finally, he told the clerk, "Just give me two Redskins Legacy tickets. I've had enough fun for today."
For him, the fun was just beginning.
One of those tickets turned out to be a $1 million winner.
"I couldn't believe it," he said later. "The clerks in the store were screaming. They took my picture."
On Thursday, Jan. 20, Mackin returned to the store with his wife Faye to receive his check from Virginia Lottery Executive Director Paula Otto.
He had a choice between taking the full $1 million over 25 years or an immediate cash option of $622,000. He chose the cash option. The store received a $10,000 bonus for selling the ticket.
Mackin, who describes himself as a big Redskins fan, said the prize will come in handy because he is close to retirement from his job as a truck driver.
However, his wife disagrees that he will ever retire. "He's a workaholic," she said.
Redskins Legacy is a unique game that features seven different collectible tickets, each with a different Redskins logo used during the team's history. Players can enter non-winning tickets in the "Stay in the Game Sweepstakes" to try to win season tickets for 2011 and for 10 years. Go to www.valottery.com to enter by February 3, 2011.
Mackin is the second $1 million winner in the Redskins Legacy game, which means one million-dollar ticket remains unclaimed.
The Virginia Lottery generates approximately $1.2 million per day for Virginia's K-12 public schools.
Operating entirely on revenue from the sale of Lottery products, rather than tax dollars, the Virginia Lottery raised more than $430.2 million for Virginia's public schools in fiscal year 2010. That represents about 8 percent of state funding for public education in Virginia.
For more information, visit www.valottery.com. Follow the Virginia Lottery on Facebook and Twitter. Please play responsibly.
