West Helena Man Wins $500,000 Scratch-Off Prize at Local Gas Stop
A West Helena man won $500,000 on a $20 scratch-off he bought while pumping gas, then discovered the prize at home using a lottery app.
James R. of Phillips County walked into Jordan's Kwik Stop 27 on Highway 49 in West Helena to buy gas and left with a $20 scratch-off ticket that would eventually pay him $500,000.
He didn't scratch the 200X instant ticket at the register. He took it home, scratched it there, and scanned the barcode through the AR Lottery + Club app on his phone. The app's response stopped him cold: claim this prize at the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery Claim Center.
"It was so unbelievable," James said.
He had almost not bought the ticket at all. "Something just told me to buy a couple of tickets," he told lottery officials. He claimed the $500,000 top prize at the ASL Claim Center on March 13 and plans to put the money toward renovating his home.
The Arkansas Scholarship Lottery does not release winners' full names unless they choose to make them public, which is why James is identified only by his first name and last initial.
The win is part of a quick run of major prizes from the lottery's newly launched "X" scratch-off family. K. Houston of Mena won a $100,000 top prize on the 50X game, a $5 ticket she bought at Racehorse, 420 N. First St. in Glenwood. Houston, who said she usually gravitates toward other scratch-off games, picked the 50X ticket at random. She claimed her prize on March 16. "It still doesn't feel real," she said. Houston plans to use the winnings to help her father buy a new home.
Three $500,000 top prizes remain unclaimed on the 200X game, according to the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery.
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