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The winning lottery ticket that a Virginia man found was actually worth $1 million:
- Virginia resident Jose Flores Velasquez says he could barely contain his excitement when he discovered he'd won $600 after purchasing a 20 Times The Money lottery ticket at a local Safeway grocery store. So imagine how he reacted when he found out he'd misread the ticket and had actually won $1 million.
- The Annandale man learned of his mistake when he tried to cash in the ticket at the Virginia Lottery's customer service center, lottery officials say. Instead of leaving with $600, Valasquez went home with a whole lot more.
- But not exactly a million dollars. Valasquez opted to take the one-time cash payment of $760,000 before taxes, rather than receive the entire amount spread out over 30 years, lottery officials say. He plans to use the money to start his own business and to take care of his family, he says.
- If the lottery were a privately-owned business, could the people who run it get in trouble for advertising a $1 million prize when it really isn't that much?