Long-time lottery player wins huge prize in Arkansas. ‘Been hoping for this day’
A long-time lottery player in Arkansas was pleasantly surprised when he found out he won a huge prize on a second-chance game.
The Faulkner County man had a non-winning “$50 or $100! 2024 Edition instant ticket” that he entered into the Sept. 11 Play It Again Second-Chance drawing, according to a Sept. 17 news release from the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery.
That same day, he got a voicemail from the lottery office, but he was skeptical thinking it may be a scam and almost deleted the message.
But, he decided to call back and learned he won $250,000.
“I had to go into the closet and scream,” he told lottery officials. “It’s a feeling you cannot explain.”
The man had been playing the lottery for years, waiting to win a prize this big.
“I’ve been hoping for this day,” he said.
When he went to his wife overjoyed, she panicked thinking the phone call was bad news. Then she learned it was quite the opposite.
“We have to go now,” he said about claiming the prize, which they did the same day.
The man said he plans to use his winnings to help pay for his daughter to go to college.
This story was originally published September 18, 2025 at 2:52 PM with the headline "Long-time lottery player wins huge prize in Arkansas. ‘Been hoping for this day’."
